Directors urged to review health and safety |
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| Management - News | |
| Tuesday, 15 January 2008 | |
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AXA is advising directors to review their company’s health and safety procedures in preparation of the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act, which takes effect from 6 April 2008. Failure by senior management to ensure compliance with health and safety law may leave the company open to being charged under the new offence, should a work related death occur. Under the new offence, companies and organisations can be found liable for a work-related death if actions at a senior level amount to a gross breach of a duty of care to the deceased. The new Act removes the need to find an individual responsible, thus making it easier to convict a corporation. Doug Barnett, head of customer risk management, strongly advised directors to evaluate the company’s current health and safety management system to ensure compliance. He added that an effective system will take into account the risks posed to employees, customers and anyone else affected by the company’s activities. "Involvement from the top level of an organisation will demonstrate that health and safety is a high priority. It will also help ensure that practices are implemented correctly," Barnett said. "Getting health and safety right not only helps to protect an organisation from being prosecuted under this serious offence, but it can help to reduce costs as there are less compensation pay outs and days taken off by employees recovering from injuries," Barnett concluded. He said that setting up the people and processes to control these risks need not be expensive and did not have to be overly bureaucratic. "What this change in the law does, is to remind everyone that ignoring these risks is not an option,” according to Barnett. Related articles
Related links Comments (1)
 Good advice. Posted by A Safety Consultant, 16 January 2008
That's great advice from AXA and the message cannot be pushed enough. I work as a health and safety consultant] and we are finding a that many directors are concerned with the implications of the new act which is borne out by the number of new enquiries coming in from company directors.
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