The Health & Safety Executive have recently updated their
guidance on diving projects at work. The guidance, in the form of
an 8-page leaflet, explains in relatively simple terms the main
legal responsibilities of those involved in diving projects,
including clients for whom the diving work is being performed,
those persons directly involved in the dive, and others such as
vessel operators whose actions could affect the safety of the dive
team.
Whilst the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 sets out the
general duties that employers have toward employees and others
affected by their "undertaking", the main set of
regulations that apply to diving are the Diving at Work Regulations
1997 (the Regulations). The Regulations cover all diving projects
where one or more divers are at work, whether those divers are
employed or self-employed. The Regulations are
'goal-setting' in nature, in that they do not stipulate in
any detail precisely how the dive work should be carried
