This is what is on my website, quoting the Irish law:
At Avondhu Cleaning Services we take health and safety seriously. Unlike many local companies, we comply fully with the 2007 WAHR legislation.
What is the 2007 "Work at height" directive, and how does it affect me?
The 2007 HSA work at height directive is part of the "STATUTORY INSTRUMENTS
S.I. No. 299 of 2007,Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (General Application) Regulations 2007"
While this directive covers nearly every aspect of health and safety in the workplace, Part 4 specifically deals with "Work at height". The extract shown below contains the key regulations that limit ladder use for window cleaning. We believe it is "reasonably practicable" to clean windows without ladders, making ladders an unnecessary risk, and therefore their use is in direct violation of this law.
Avoidance of risks from work at height.
98. Taking account of the general principles of prevention in Schedule 3 to the Act, an employer
shall—
(a) ensure that work is not carried out at height where it is reasonably practicable to carry out the work safely and without risk to health otherwise than at height,
(b) without prejudice to the generality of paragraph (a), ensure that work is not carried
out at height unless it is reasonably practicable to do so safely and without risk to
health,
(c) where, having regard to paragraphs (a) and (b), it is necessary to carry out work at
height, take suitable and sufficient measures to prevent an employee falling a
distance liable to cause personal injury, including—
(i) ensuring that the work is carried out—
(I) from an existing place of work, or
(II) in the case of obtaining access or egress, by using an existing means of
access or egress,
in compliance with this Part, where it is practicable to do so safely and under
appropriate ergonomic conditions, and
(ii) where it is not practicable for the work to be carried out in accordance with
subparagraph (i), ensuring that suitable and sufficient work equipment, in
compliance with Regulation 100, is provided to prevent a fall occurring,
(d) where the measures taken under paragraph (c) do not eliminate the risk of a fall
occurring—
(i) provide sufficient work equipment, in compliance with Regulation 100, to
minimise the distance of a potential fall and the risk of personal injury, and
(ii) without prejudice to the generality of paragraph (c), provide such additional
training and instruction or take other additional suitable and sufficient
measures to prevent, so far as is practicable, any employee falling a distance
liable to cause personal injury.
