Manual Handling Training in Dublin: Employer Duties in Ireland

If you run a team in Dublin, "manual handling training" is probably on your list, but the law in Ireland is built around something wider than a course. The General Application Regulations 2007 ask employers to avoid hazardous manual handling where they can, assess and reduce the risk where they cannot, and give employees the right information. Training is one part of that picture. For a broader overview of lifting and carrying at work, see our manual handling training workplace guide; this article stays close to what the legislation and Health and Safety Authority (HSA) guidance say.

The law is national, so the same rules apply to a Dublin office, warehouse, shop or care setting as to any other workplace in Ireland. The sources used here are the Revised Acts pages of the Law Reform Commission, the Irish Statute Book, Citizens Information and an HSA guide published in December 2007. Where a source is silent, we say so.

What the Regulations define as manual handling

Manual handling of loads is covered by Part 2, Chapter 4 of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (General Application) Regulations 2007. That chapter contains two regulations: Regulation 68 (interpretation) and Regulation 69 (duties of employer).

According to the HSA guide on this chapter, Regulation 68 defines manual handling as any transporting or supporting of a load by one or more employees, including lifting, lowering, pushing, pulling, carrying or moving it, where the characteristics of the load or unfavourable ergonomic conditions involve a risk, particularly of back injury. The same guide notes that a "load" can include a person or an animal, which matters for care and healthcare settings.

What Regulation 69 requires of employers

As read on the Revised Acts page, Regulation 69 sets out a sequence of duties:

• Avoid: where possible, remove the need for manual handling, using organisational measures or suitable equipment such as mechanical equipment.
• Reduce: where manual handling cannot be avoided, take organisational measures or provide suitable means to reduce the risk, having regard to the risk factors in Schedule 3.
• Assess: arrange workstations to be as safe and healthy as possible and assess the health and safety conditions of the work using the Schedule 3 risk factors, taking measures to avoid or reduce risk, "particularly of back injury".
• Protect sensitive groups: protect employees who are particularly sensitive to risk from the dangers that specifically affect them, and consider each employee's capabilities when assigning tasks.
• Inform: make sure employees doing manual handling receive general information and, where possible, precise information on the weight of each load and on the centre of gravity of the heaviest side where a package is loaded off-centre.

It is worth noticing what the page does not say. As shown on the Revised Acts page, Regulation 69 does not itself mention training. Its information duty is expressed as being without prejudice to section 9 of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005. The general training duty comes from the 2005 Act, covered below.

The Schedule 3 risk factors

Regulation 69 points employers to Schedule 3. The HSA guide groups the factors under five headings:

• Characteristics of the load: for example, too heavy or too large, unwieldy, unstable, or held away from the body.
• Physical effort required: for example, effort that is too strenuous, involves twisting the trunk or is made from an unstable posture.
• Working environment: for example, insufficient room, uneven or slippery floors, or unsuitable temperature, humidity or ventilation.
• Requirements of the activity: for example, over-frequent or prolonged effort, insufficient rest, long carrying distances, or a work rate set by a process the employee cannot change.
• Individual risk factors: for example, physical unsuitability for the task, unsuitable clothing or footwear, and inadequate knowledge or training.

That last heading is where training enters the regulation: inadequate knowledge or training is listed as a factor to be considered in the assessment, rather than as a stand-alone duty to run a course.

Where the training duty comes from

The Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 is the source of the general duty. Section 8(2)(g), as presented on the Irish Statute Book, extends the employer's duty to providing the "information, instruction, training and supervision necessary" to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, employees' safety, health and welfare at work. Section 10, as read on the Revised Acts page, adds detail:

• instruction, training and supervision must be given in a form, manner and, where appropriate, language reasonably likely to be understood by the employee;
• training must be updated for new or changed risks and, as appropriate, repeated periodically;
• training must be given on recruitment, on transfer or change of task, and when new equipment, systems of work or technology are introduced.

Citizens Information (page last edited 25 August 2022) also states that employers must provide instruction and training on health and safety and must allow paid time off for safety awareness training. Section 10 requires training on a transfer or change of task; in our view, starting to lift stock, move furniture or assist patients in a new role may amount to such a change, but the sources we read do not give this as an example. The legislation does not name a specific manual handling course, a certificate, or a renewal period, and none of the pages we read does either.

What the HSA says about training on its own

The HSA guide is direct on the limits of training. It states that "The provision of manual handling training on its own will not reduce injury rates", and that training "is not a substitute for the reduction or avoidance of manual handling activities which involve risk." It also says training should be specific to the task, and that employees should be consulted, for instance before equipment or packaging is bought.

The guide also says the Regulations set no specific requirements such as weight limits. It does provide guideline weights by work zone, but we have not reproduced them here because we did not read the figures on an opened page. Check the guide itself if you need them. Note too that this is guidance published in December 2007, and the guide describes itself as not being a legal interpretation.

A practical approach for Dublin employers

The following points are our suggestions, not legal requirements:

• Start with the task list. Walk through where people lift, push, pull or carry, from deliveries to archive boxes, and note which tasks could be removed or mechanised first.
• Record the assessment. Section 19 of the 2005 Act requires a written risk assessment, and the safety statement under section 20 must reflect the hazards identified. Manual handling tasks should appear in both.
• Match training to the tasks found. A generic session is less likely to help than one that uses your own loads, shelving and routes.
• Trigger training on change. Recruitment, a transfer or change of task, and the introduction of new work equipment, systems of work or technology are the situations section 10 lists, so build them into your onboarding and change process. New layouts are not listed there, but may be worth including after a risk assessment review.
• Keep records. Note who was trained, when, and on which tasks. The sources we read do not prescribe a format.

If you are also reviewing wider obligations, our overview of HSA mandatory training requirements in Ireland sets manual handling alongside other topics.

Learnsignal's offices are off Baggot Street in Dublin, and we offer in-person training from there. For current details, see our CPD pages.

Frequently asked questions

Is manual handling training a legal requirement in Ireland?

The General Application Regulations 2007 require employers to avoid, assess and reduce manual handling risk, and the 2005 Act requires the information, instruction and training necessary for safety. The pages we read do not name a mandatory manual handling course or certificate, so the focus is on whether your training is adequate for the tasks employees actually do.

Do the Regulations set a maximum weight someone can lift?

According to the HSA guide, the Regulations set no specific requirements such as weight limits. Weight is one of the factors considered in the assessment, along with the other Schedule 3 risk factors.

How often must manual handling training be repeated?

Section 10 of the 2005 Act, as read on the Revised Acts page, says training must be updated for new or changed risks and, as appropriate, repeated periodically. It does not fix a number of months or years.

Who pays for training and is it done in working time?

Section 10(1)(b) refers to training being given, where appropriate, during time off from work and without loss of remuneration. Citizens Information (last edited 25 August 2022) also says employers must allow paid time off for safety awareness training. The pages do not set out every scenario, so take advice if your situation is unusual.

Does manual handling apply to office workers?

The definition covers any transporting or supporting of a load by employees where there is a risk, particularly of back injury. Whether a task is covered depends on the load and conditions, not the sector, so moving boxes, equipment or furniture in an office can be relevant.

In short, treat manual handling training as one part of a documented assessment, not a substitute for it, and check the primary sources for the wording that applies to you.