Height, handling and moving things — CSCS Card HS&E Test Practice

Sample questions

1. 01An electrician climbs a ladder to reach a scaffold lift, where the actual work will be done. Is the climb itself covered by the Work at Height Regulations?

   • AOnly if the ladder is longer than the electrician is tall
   • BNo, only the task done on the platform is covered
   • CNo, because the climb takes less than a minute
   • DYes, getting to and from the place of work is included

   Why: The definition in regulation 2(1) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 covers obtaining access to or egress from a place of work at height, as well as the work itself. The only exception is a staircase in a permanent workplace, and a ladder to a scaffold is not one. How long the climb takes does not change the definition.

2. 02An electrician is about to work on a flat roof with a parapet to fit a rooftop isolator. What does regulation 13 require before the place is used?

   • AThe roof surface and parapet are checked each time before use
   • BNothing, because a parapet already counts as edge protection
   • CThe roof is only checked if it is more than 2 metres high
   • DThe roof is inspected once a year by a structural engineer

   Why: Regulation 13 of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 requires, so far as is reasonably practicable, that the surface and every parapet, permanent rail or similar protection of a place of work at height is checked on each occasion before it is used. Having a parapet is exactly why it needs checking, not a reason to skip the check. The law sets no 2 m threshold for this duty.

3. 03A self-employed electrician on a construction site takes on a labourer for a week and directs all of the labourer’s work at height. Whose work do the Work at Height Regulations duties cover?

   • AOnly the electrician’s own, as the labourer is not staff
   • BThe electrician’s own and the work the electrician controls
   • COnly the labourer’s, as the electrician is self-employed
   • DNeither, unless a principal contractor has been appointed

   Why: Regulation 3 of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 applies the duties to a relevant self-employed person for their own work and for anyone working under their control, to the extent of that control. Work on a construction site is a prescribed activity, so the electrician is a relevant self-employed person. Being self-employed does not take the electrician’s own work outside the law, and the duties do not wait for a principal contractor.