Britain wins EU court health and safety ruling

(LUXEMBOURG) - A European court on Thursday dismissed a legal action brought by the EU Commission accusing the British government of breaking its worker health and safety rules.

The European Court of Justice in Luxembourg said the EU's executive arm had failed to prove there was anything wrong with Britain's application of safety standards

The Commission had claimed that British rules instructing public sector employers to ensure the health and safety of workers as "far as is reasonably practicable", did not go far enough.

A Community Directive provides that the employer has a duty to ensure the safety and health of workers in every aspect related to work.

This rule may be broken only where "occurrences are due to unusual and unforeseeable circumstances, beyond the employers' control," according to EU rules.

The Court said in a statement that it had concluded that "the Commission has not established in what way the disputed clause, considered in the light of the national case-law cited, infringes the provisions of the Directive."

A European Commission spokeswoman said the commission had taken note of the ruling "and will now analyse the court's judgement and listen to social partners' reactions."

Judgment of the Court of Justice in Case C-127/05
Commission / United Kingdom