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Directors Responsibilities re Health and Safety
Legal responsibilities of employers
Health and safety law states that organisations must:
· provide a written health and safety policy (if they employ five or more people);
· assess risks to employees, customers, partners and any other people who could be affected
by their activities;
· arrange for the effective planning, organisation, control, monitoring and review of preventive
and protective measures;
· ensure they have access to competent health and safety advice;
· consult employees about their risks at work and current preventive and protective measures.
Failure to comply with these requirements can have serious consequences – for both organisations
and individuals. Sanctions include fines, imprisonment and disqualification.
Under the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 an offence will be committed where failings by an organisation’s senior management are a substantial element in any gross breach of the duty of care owed to the organisation’s employees or members of the public, which results in death. The maximum penalty is an unlimited fine and the court can additionally make a publicity order requiring the organisation to publish details of its conviction and fine.
Good Practice
· Health and safety should appear regularly on the agenda for board meetings.
· The chief executive can give the clearest visibility of leadership, but some boards find it useful to name one of their number as the health and safety ‘champion’.
· The presence on the board of a health and safety director can be a strong signal that the issue is being taken seriously and that its strategic importance is understood.
· Setting targets helps define what the board is seeking to achieve.
· A non-executive director can act as a scrutineer – ensuring the processes to support boards facing significant health and safety risks are robust.
· Larger public and private sector organisations need to have formal procedures for auditing and reporting health and safety performance. The board should ensure that any audit is perceived as a positive management and boardroom tool.
As a result of introducing a Board driven health and safety policy there will be a drop in time lost to injuries and a reduction in sickness absence often leading to an improved morale and pride in the work environment.
Usually the outcome of this is a significant drop in Employer liability insurance premiums.
Our in house expert Colin Hackett can audit and advise on work place risks or for more information go to www.hse.gov.uk
