What is manual handling? The legal definition, with examples

The legal definition

Regulation 2 of the Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 says "manual handling operations" means any transporting or supporting of a load, including lifting, putting down, pushing, pulling, carrying or moving it, by hand or by bodily force. It also says a load "includes any person and any animal". HSE uses the same definition in its guidance.

Everyday examples

• lifting boxes from a delivery onto a shelf
• carrying a crate of food from a storeroom to a kitchen
• pushing a loaded trolley or sack truck
• pulling a cage along a corridor
• helping a person move from a bed to a chair
• holding a load steady while someone else fixes it in place

Using a trolley, sack truck or wheelbarrow is still manual handling, because you push or pull the load by bodily force, but HSE says mechanical help like this reduces the risk.

Why it matters

HSE's statistics for 2024/25 show injuries while handling, lifting or carrying were 17% of the non-fatal injuries to employees that employers reported. HSE also names manual handling as one of the main causes of work-related musculoskeletal disorders, which affected an estimated 511,000 workers in Great Britain in 2024/25.

What employers must do

HSE sums up the law in three steps:

1. Avoid hazardous manual handling, so far as is reasonably practicable.
2. Assess the risk of injury from any hazardous manual handling that cannot be avoided.
3. Reduce the risk of injury to as low as is reasonably practicable.

Employees must make full and proper use of any system of work their employer provides. Our guide to the TILE assessment explains the four things an assessment looks at.

Weight limits

There are none in law. HSE says the weight of a load is important, but the Regulations do not set specific weight limits. HSE's guideline filters help employers spot low-risk tasks; they are not safe limits.

Training

Lift College Manual Handling Training is 3 hours in 5 modules, with a CPD Standards Office accredited certificate the same day you pass. For care staff who move people, Moving and Handling of People Training covers people handling.