Risk, Health and Safety Information

Health and safety responsibilities of senior management

Strong and active health and safety leadership is important for three main reasons:

·         protecting the health and safety of employees or members of the public who may be affected by your business' activities

·         identifying health and safety as a key business risk

·         complying with health and safety legislation duties

Leading by example

You should follow a number of essential principles of health and safety leadership:

·         strong and active leadership from the top - visible, active commitment from the board, effective 'downward' communication systems and management structures, and good health and safety management integrated with business decisions

·         worker involvement - engaging the workforce in the promotion and achievement of safe and healthy conditions, effective 'upward' communication, and providing high quality training

·         assessment and review - identifying and managing health and safety risks, accessing and following competent advice, and monitoring, reporting and reviewing performance

Senior management should send out the message that risks to workers' health and safety need to be effectively managed, and that systems need to be in place and adequately resourced to manage these risks.

The senior management team should:

·         set the direction for effective health and safety management through a health and safety policy that becomes an integral part of business culture, values and performance standards

·         aim to protect people through management systems and practices that ensure risks are dealt with sensibly, responsibly and proportionately

·         ensure a system of monitoring is in place so that relevant incidents, events or breaches can be addressed

·         undertake formal reviews of health and safety performance at least once a year

The chief executive (or equivalent) can give the clearest indication of leadership, but some businesses find it useful to name a director as the health and safety 'champion'.

Legal responsibilities

As an employer you must comply with certain legal responsibilities. See the page in this guide on health and safety responsibilities of employers.

An individual as well as the business can be prosecuted if a health and safety offence is committed. Penalties include fines, imprisonment and disqualification. Individual directors are also potentially liable for other related offences, such as the common law offence of gross negligence manslaughter.