Mines Act (Northern Ireland) 1969

3 Rights of mine manager with respect to instructions given by or on behalf of owner. N.I.

(1) Any instructions given to the manager of a mine by or on behalf of the owner thereof, being instructions affecting the fulfilment, in relation to the mine, by the manager of statutory responsibilities of his, shall, so far as they are not written, be confirmed in writing by the person by whom they were given forthwith after the making of a request in that behalf by the manager.

(2) Except in a case of emergency, neither the owner of a mine nor a person acting on his behalf shall, except with the consent of the manager of the mine, give, otherwise than through the manager, any instructions to a person employed at the mine who is responsible to the manager; and where the owner of a mine or a person acting on his behalf gives, in either of the said excepted cases, instructions which, apart from the exception, would be required to be given through the manager of the mine, the person who gave the instructions shall, forthwith after he has given them, inform the manager of the substance thereof and, if requested so to do by the manager, confirm them in writing forthwith after the making of the request.

The foregoing provisions of this subsection shall not apply to any instructions given by an under-manager of a mine or a person appointed by the manager of a mine in pursuance of this Act or regulations.

(3) Where, in the case of a mine whereof the manager is by or by virtue of the following provisions of this Act required to hold qualifications for his office, instructions are given by or on behalf of the owner of the mine to the manager of the mine, an under-manager thereof or a person appointed by the manager in pursuance of this Act or regulations, then, if the manager is of opinion that the execution of the instructions would or might be likely to prejudice the safety or health of the persons employed at the mine (or any of them) or to impede him in the discharge, in relation to the mine, of any duty imposed on him by or by virtue of this Act, he may,—

(a) in a case where the instructions are given to him, decline to execute them until they are confirmed in writing by a person qualified for appointment as manager of the mine who is authorised in writing by the owner of the mine to confirm instructions given as aforesaid;

(b) in any other case, direct that the instructions be not executed until they are so confirmed by such a person.

The foregoing provisions of this subsection shall not apply to instructions given by an owner of a mine who is an individual or by such a person as is mentioned in paragraph ( a).

(4) Where, in the case of such a mine as is mentioned in subsection (3), instructions are given and confirmed as therein mentioned, the document by which they are confirmed shall be preserved by the manager of the mine, and a copy of that document shall be preserved by the owner of the mine, in each case for three years after the instructions cease to be operative.