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Health, Safety & Environmental Bulletin No 128

S Martin – 4 March 2009

Health & Safety Offences Act 2008

The Health and Safety Offences Act 2008 came into force on Friday, 16 January 2009.

This new Act will increase penalties and provide courts with greater sentencing powers
for those who break health and safety laws, and empower even the lower courts to be
able to issue fines of £20,000 for breaches of safety.

This follows soon after the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007
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being introduced on 6 April 2008, which for the first time, means that companies and
organisations can be found guilty of corporate manslaughter as a result of serious
management failures resulting in a gross breach of a duty of care.

So, Directors and Managers can be imprisoned, companies can face huge turnover-
related fines........it doesn’t affect us does it? ......why should it? ........we work for a safe
company, don’t we?

The simple answer is that I believe that we are the safest company in our industry, and
do more to protect our customers from the risk of prosecution that any company that I
know, but this tougher legislation affects every one of us.

Our safety procedures are very robust, but it is now more and more likely that
individuals will face large fines or imprisonment where breaches result in harm.

Under section 2 of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act (HSAWA) 1974, the company
is responsible for providing all employees with:-

a) Safe systems of work and plant
b) Safe use, handling, storage and transport of goods and materials
c) Provision of information. Instruction, training and supervision
d) Safe places of work including means of access and egress
e) A safe and healthy working environment

Under section 3 of the HSAWA, our customers have a duty to not expose us to risk and
provide information about risks which may affect us.