Senior staff health & safety prosecutions reach 10-year high

Health & Safety update 13/01/2012

Figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act (FoIA) have shown that the number of directors and senior managers that have been prosecuted under section 37 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 has surged by more than 400 per cent in the last five years.

Some 43 directors, senior managers or company secretaries were prosecuted under the act in 2010/11, compared with just 10 prosecutions in 2005/6, making it the highest number recorded since 1990/2000. The numbers were released to solicitor, Lee Hughes, after he made a comprehensive FoIA request. They also showed that the 43 prosecutions in 2010/11 resulted in 35 convictions - marking a major increase on the five convictions secured in 2005/06.

Of the prosecutions brought in the 2010/11 period, seven were brought in the wake of investigations into fatal incidents at work. Fifteen prosecutions punished offences that were uncovered due to non-fatal incidents, while 21 were brought following routine inspections or reports, and not as the result of specific events.

The statistics have given weight to a Lib Dem policy proposal to extend the power to disqualify an individual from being a company director due to serious failures to protect employees' well-being. The numbers showed that none of the directors that were convicted during 2010/11 were disqualified from their positions under the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986.

If you would like further information, and already subscribe NatWest Mentor, please call the Advice Service. If you would like more information on how Mentor could help your business in situations like this and many others, contact us today for information.

Next story - New maternity pay, sick pay and redundancy rates announced

Previous story - Revised Control of Asbestos Regulations