Health & Safety crackdown
A new health and safety law due to come into force on January 16th 2009 will give courts greater power to punish directors of companies which breach the rules. The Health and Safety Offences Act, which will be introduced on friday 16th will make imprisonment an option for many offences. It would effectively mean that Directors could be treated as criminals by the courts. The Act raises the maximum penalties which lower courts can impose from £5,000 to £20,000. It also increases the range of offences for which an individual may be imprisoned and makes certain offences, which are currently only triable in the lower courts, triable in both lower and higher courts. What was once considered a breach of regulations could in future become a criminal matter.
The message is that Directors and senior managers can no longer afford to be lax about health and safety. They need to take a systematic approach, ensure risk assessments are carried out and proper procedures and training are in place to minimise risks and help protect their staff and the public at large.
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