The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has recently found in favour of the United Kingdom against the advice of the Commission which considered that failings in the transposition of the 1989 framework directive posed a threat to the protection of workers’ health and safety. In its latest issue, drafted before the ECJ ruling, the HESA Newsletter returns to this dispute about what is known as the British "reasonably practicable" clause. Lawyer Laurent Vogel of the Health and Safety department at ETUI-REHS delivers a minute dissection of UK case law, giving examples to demonstrate how incompatible this clause is with the framework directive and how much it typifies the UK’s hostility with regard to any Community social legislation. The Court’s ruling adds a European dimension to the debate. It might call into question one of the important "acquis" of the framework directive: the principle of not making prevention dependent upon economic calculations.

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