The HSE prosecution of company directors has trebled since the introduction of the New Sentencing Guidelines!

Not only has there been a steep rise in fines for breaches of Health and Safety, but we've also seen much higher sentences imposed on individuals - that is, the directors of those businesses fined.

Of the 46 prosecutions in 2015/16, 34 were found guilty and twelve were given prison sentences of up to two years. By contrast, for the same period, only one employee was prosecuted. Does this, perhaps, demonstrate an increased keenness by the HSE to prosecute the most senior individuals in the business, rather than the employees - who are often more culpable?

This is affecting businesses of all sizes. In the past, the majority of director prosecutions were of those running SMEs, because they generally had more direct responsibility for health and safety matters. But since the changes, with fines being directly related to company turnover, it is now also becoming a cause of personal concern for all those on the board of larger organisations.

Fines are now routinely hitting the £1m mark for non-fatal offences; even where no injury has actually occurred. The fact that workers and others were put at substantial risk of injury or death, has been enough to result in heavy penalties.

The size of the fine now depends upon the size of the company, the level of culpability and the resultant harm (or potential harm) caused. Health and safety breaches are being taken by the courts as seriously as data breaches or financial irregularity issues. Also, as well as on the impact on the individual, they now take into account the seriousness of the economic impact.
Before the introduction of the guidelines, there was little assistance for courts sentencing health and safety offences. But we could soon be seeing fines meted out by the Court of Appeal equal to businesses' entire pre-tax net profit. Therefore, for leaders of businesses of all sizes, any breach of health and safety is now potentially a major threat to their company's bottom line.

But it's not all doom and gloom. In fact, for those businesses who actively seek to make a positive change to health and safety within their organisations, it can be positively rewarding!

Mary Lawrence, a partner at law firm Osborne Clarke LLP specialists in health and safety says: “an increase in fines being issued by the courts demonstrates a desire to drive the message home that ensuring health and safety within a working environment is fundamental...." and "we can expect to see even larger fines (in excess of £1m) going forward........".
"…I see many businesses, who focus on the safety and health of employees and others, experiencing a broad range of benefits including being better placed to attract and retain talent, scoring points in procurement processes for valuable contracts, or even when seeking external investment."

So now may be the time to review your company's approach to health and safety: complete our self-assessment now to help you understand what problems you may have, and how best to remedy them.

Steve Newton Dip Man, TechIOSH, FCMI, CMC
Director
Isosure Ltd
http://www.isosure.com/