Envex Company Limited - Leading Health & Safety at Work

Guidance for directors and board members, issued jointly by the Institute of Directors and the Health and Safety Commission, explains what needs to be done in order to achieve effective health and safety leadership. Its pertinence is increased by the recently enacted Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act, which comes into force next April.

Under health and safety law, duties are placed on organisations and employers. Directors can be personally liable when these duties are breached: it is noted that board members have both collective and individual responsibility for health and safety. Furthermore, the human and financial cost of failing to address health and safety is illustrated by HSE statistics:

* more than 200 people are killed at work in the UK each year (not including work-related road deaths)
* in 2006, 30 million working days were lost in the UK to occupational ill health and injury, imposing an annual cost to society of £30bn (more than 3% of GDP)
* surveys show that about two million people suffer from an illness that they believe to be caused or made worse by work
* many deaths can be attributed to occupational illnesses, including some cancers and respiratory diseases.

Further costs to organisations can include those relating to reputation and uninsured costs.

Key principles

Following this guidance can help an organisation find the best ways to lead and promote health and safety, and therefore meet its legal obligations. The following ‘essential principles’ are highlighted as the starting points:

* strong and active leadership from the top – visible, active commitment from the board; clear ‘downward’ communication and management systems; the integration of good health and safety management with business decisions
* worker involvement – engaging the workforce in the promotion and achievement of safe and healthy conditions; effective ‘upward’ communication; providing high quality training
* assessment and review – identifying and managing health and safety risks; accessing (and following) competent advice; monitoring, reporting and reviewing performance.

Legal responsibilities

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 with employees about their risks at work and current preventive and protective measures.

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 also make a publicity order requiring the organisation to publish details of its conviction and fine.

The guidance covers the following:

* a four-point agenda for embedding the essential health and safety principles. This covers core actions for boards and individual board members that relate directly to the legal duties of an organisation; good practice guidelines that set out ways to give the core actions practical effect; and case studies relevant to most sectors
* a summary of legal liabilities
* a checklist of key questions for leaders
* a list of resources and references for implementing this guidance in detail.

The guidance is available at:
http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg417.pdf

A Welsh version is available at:
http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/welsh/indg417w.pdf

HSE Books
INDG417
Single copies free; available in priced packs of 5 (ISBN 978 0 7176 6267 8)

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