Guidance on Domiciliary Care and Section 51 of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act (HSWA)

1.1 Section 51 of HSWA – Exclusion of application to domestic employment.
“Nothing in this Part shall apply in relation to a person by reason only that he employs another, or is himself employed, as a domestic servant in a private household.”1.2 Section 51 restricts the application of HSWA within private homes and the Act is dis-applied in many situations involving domestic employment, for example HSWA is unlikely to apply to au pairs or housekeepers.1.3 However it may not be immediately clear if a worker’s employment does amount to domestic service. One such area is Domiciliary Care where an individual is being cared for in a home/domestic dwelling. The purpose of this guidance is to assist Inspectors decide whether section 51 applies to their investigation. In the absence of certain definitions or decisive case law it is important that the facts of each case are carefully considered on their own merits. This guidance sets out some factors which should be taken into account.

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