Michael Pacheco

BTEC National Diploma in Sport

Heath and Safety in sport

Health and Safety Legislation

The health and safety at work act (1974) puts a responsibility on all employers to provide a safe environment at work for their employees and is probably the main law regarding health and safety in the work place. It gives employers the responsibility of providing a clean environment to work in; safety checks on all machinery/equipment, competent trained and supervised staff and the welfare of employees at work.

This law has had a massive impact on sport especially in gyms and health centres as it has provided much safer places of work out, as all machinery/equipment now has to be checked regularly for faults and all staff has to be fully qualified preventing injuries and saving lives. Failure to meet these legal responsibilities could result in criminal prosecution.

The data protection act (1988) states that personal information must be obtained fairly and legally and should not be kept for any longer than necessary. It also states that the person of whom the personal data belongs to must be informed of why their data is needed and to whom it is being disclosed to. Data must remain confidential at all times. This laws main impact would have been on gyms and health centres as when you sign up for a membership you have to give medical details on any health problems you might have along with other personal information such as your telephone number, address, etc. the data protection acts prevents these company's of disclosing any of your information to anyone without your approval and that it must be erased when you are no longer a member.
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The fire safety and safety of places of sport act (1987) was put in place after 56 people were killed by a fire during a Bradford City FC football match. It applies to all sports grounds/arenas and states that any with a stand that has a capacity of more than 500 people must undertake specific fire safety checks. This law has had an impact on all sports that generate large crowds to their grounds/stadiums such as rugby or cricket although its largest effect would have been on football as it generates more fans than any other sport in ...

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