Dennis Draper, Senior Environmental Health Consultant at Connaught Compliance
Firms Warned to Avoid Safety 'Own Goal' During Recession
January 20th 2009
Employers are being warned that skimping on health and safety to save money during the recession could backfire in a big way.
A new law that came into force on January 16th has raised the maximum magistrate’s court fine for safety breaches from £5,000 to £20,000 per offence, and makes it possible to jail people for more offences than ever before. The legislation has arrived just as many firms are searching for ways to trim budgets in order to cope with the downturn in the market.
But, says seasoned health and safety professional Dennis Draper: “Cutting back on risk management measures or safety training is a short-sighted strategy that could have serious long-term consequences.”
Mr Draper, a senior environmental health consultant with Connaught Compliance who has 36 years’ experience added: “The big rise in fines means that efforts to reduce spending in this way could become a major own goal that ultimately costs much more than it saves.”
The hike in potential fines comes about through the passing of the Health and Safety (Offences) Act which gives magistrates courts the power to impose penalties of up to £20,000 per offence and up to 12 months imprisonment. This makes it easier, quicker and less expensive for enforcement bodies to secure heavy punishments for those who ignore the rules.
Magistrates have also been given more power to jail company bosses and employees found guilty of serious breaches of a wider range of health and safety regulations.
The passing of the new law has been welcomed by Government minister Lord McKenzie who said: “It is generally accepted that fines for some health and safety offences were too low. These changes ensure that sentences can now be set at a level to deter businesses that do not take their health and safety management responsibilities seriously.”
He added: “Jail sentences for particularly blameworthy offences committed by individuals can now be imposed reflecting the severity of such crimes, whereas there were more limited options in the past.”
The new law follows hard on the heels of the Corporate Manslaughter Act which created a serious new offence in cases where a death is caused by a ‘gross breach’ of an organisation’s duty of care, and the actions of the company’s senior management played a ‘substantial’ part in the breach.
Early next year judges will be given guidelines on sentencing those convicted of Corporate Manslaughter. It could mean fines amounting to 10% of a company’s turnover and an order that the firm should publicise what it has done wrong.
Said Dennis Draper: “Effective health and safety risk management doesn’t need to be expensive if approached properly. However poor risk management, or none at all, will turn out to be very expensive indeed both to the bank balance and the reputation of the organization concerned.”
Last year there were 1,491offences prosecuted by the HSE and local authorities and 13,363 enforcement notices issued against firms found behaving in unsafe ways.
Workplace accidents in the UK cost British businesses approximately £2.5bn in lost trade every year, says the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants.
More than 24 million days are said to be lost each year consequent to accidents in workplaces that did not implement robust health and safety precautions. Costs are attributed to sick pay, overtime payments and temporary replacement labour.
Find out more information about the new health and safety bill here.
Top 10 Tips to Help Avoid Prosecution
1. Ensure that risk assessments (including an assessment of water systems) are carried out by a competent person and that safe working procedures are in place
2. All work equipment must be properly maintained
3. All staff should receive appropriate safety training (eg induction, manual handling, management training, first aid etc)
4. Company directors should be committed to health and safety and have signed a health and safety policy statement. Implementation of policy to be pro-actively managed
5. Provide staff with personal protective equipment where risks cannot be controlled by any other means
6. Ensure an asbestos management plan is in place (if necessary have a survey carried out)
7. Ensure procedures are in place for the control of contractors
8. Ensure risks from slips, trips and falls are managed
9. All work at height to be properly managed
10. Gas/electrical systems must be properly maintained