Legislation and Code of Practice

The Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 (No.10 of 2005) sets down a general requirement for employers to conduct a written risk assessment.

The Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (Biological Agents) Regulations 2013 and 2020 build on this requirement by requiring employers to conduct a specific biological agents risk assessment, where an employee is or is likely to be exposed to biological agents as a result of his or her work activities.

The Regulations are supported by a Code of Practice which contains a non-exhaustive list of biological agents, their risk group classification, minimum containment measures and dispensations from minimum containment measures, where appropriate.