Introduction
From 6 April 2008, the Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005 [SI 2005 1643] that protect workers from exposure to excessive levels of noise at work will also apply to the music and entertainment sectors.
This means that employers in the music and entertainment sectors may have to take new steps to prevent or reduce risks to health and safety from exposure to noise at work. The rules also apply to employees and self-employed people.
This article is relevant to those businesses in England, Scotland and Wales in which live music is played in the workplace or in which recorded music is played, including restaurants, bars, public houses, discotheques, nightclubs, or alongside live music or a live dramatic or dance performance.
We recommend you also read our article on the Noise Regulations 2005 in general in conjunction with this.
Background
In April 2008 the existing regulations protecting workers in the music and entertainment sectors from exposure to excessive noise will be replaced by the Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005 (Noise Regulations). For other industry sectors these Regulations have been in force since April 2006. The European Directive (2003/10/EC) on which the Regulations are based allowed the music and entertainment sectors a two-year transitional period. This recognised that music is unusual as it is noise deliberately created for enjoyment and therefore practical guidelines are necessary to help workers, employers and freelancers in the music and entertainment sectors protect their hearing and safeguard their careers. Music and entertainment sectors are defined in the Noise Regulations as all workplaces where:
· live music is played; or
· recorded music is played;
· in a restaurant, bar, public house, discotheque or nightclub, or alongside live music or a live dramatic or dance performance.
The key message is that exposure to live music can cause hearing damage. Noise Regulations require each employer to manage the risk to their employees by controlling, reducing and monitoring exposure to noise. Many of the controls are simple and cost-effective and will allow the audience to still enjoy the performance with the controls in place.
I’m an employer: what must I do?
· carry out frequent risk assessment to assess the risks to your employees;
· take action to reduce noise exposure that produces those risks (see below);
· provide your employees with hearing protection if you cannot reduce the noise exposure enough using other methods (for example, they could wear hearing protection during rehearsals if you play live music);
· make sure the legal limits on noise exposure are not exceeded; and
· provide your employees with information, instruction and training.
Note, under separate environmental rules, you will also have to consider the impact of workplace noise on people who live or work near your business.
Where required, ensure that:
· hearing protection is provided and used;
· any other controls are properly used; and
· you provide information, training and health surveillance.
Estimating employees' exposure
It is essential that you can show that your estimate of employees' exposure is representative of the work that they do. It needs to take account of:
· the work they do or are likely to do;
· the ways in which they do the work; and
· how it might vary from one day to the next.
Your estimate must be based on reliable information, for example, measurements in your own workplace, information from other workplaces similar to yours, or data from suppliers of machinery.
You must record the findings of your risk assessment. You need to record in an action plan anything you identify as being necessary to comply with the law, setting out what you have done and what you are going to do, with a timetable and saying who will be responsible for the work.
Review your risk assessment if circumstances in your workplace change and affect noise exposures. Also review it regularly to make sure that you continue to do all that is reasonably practicable to control the noise risks. Even if it appears that nothing has changed, you should not leave it for more than about two years without checking whether a review is needed.
How to reduce noise:
There are many ways of reducing noise and noise exposure - often a combination of methods works best. Of course you may not be able to remove the loud noise altogether. If that is the case, do all you can to control the noise or control the exposure to noise. Consider redesigning the workplace and reorganising working patterns, for example, can your staff work shorter shifts so they aren’t in the noisy environment for so long. Can you install silencers near to a bar area so that employees are not subject to the loud noise.
Relevant Net Lawman document templates:
· Health and Safety policies
· Health and safety manuals
· Incident report form
Related information articles
· Noise at work regulations
· Vibration White Finger
· Health and safety in small business
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