Managing Health & Safety
Kevin Burniston
Lisa McCaulder
April 2006
Legislation
The Corporate Manslaughter
and Corporate Homicide Act
2007
Legislation
Objectives: The legal requirement
 How to prepare for the Act
Legislation
Current Position
Rooted in Law Commission proposals in 1996
Royal assent – 26th July 2007
Effective – 6th April 2008
Legislation
Objective
To make it easier to convict organisations for
work-related deaths caused by negligence by
removing onerous requirement to prove the
PERSONAL and INDIVIDUAL guilt of
manslaughter of one of the ‘controlling minds’
at the highest management level
Legislation
N.B.
The Act will NOT impose any:
 New obligations
 New safety measures
 New management processes
Legislation
The Acts main effect will be:To alter the ‘corporate risk’ profile
by re-classifying conduct that is
already an offence under OHS
legislation as ‘corporate
manslaughter’ (‘corporate homicide’
in Scotland)
Legislation
The ‘old’ common law offence of
manslaughter is confined to
individuals and corporate bodies.
Corporate manslaughter offence
extends to:
Partnerships
Trade unions
Employers bodies
Police forces
Government bodies
Legislation
Core Provision
Corporate manslaughter committed if
the way in which an organisation’s
activities are managed or organised: causes a person’s death and
 amounts to a gross breach of
relevant duty of care
Legislation
Gross breach
Conduct amounts to a breach of
duty that falls far below what can
reasonably be expected of the
organisation in the circumstances
Legislation
Prosecution must show that the way in
which an organisation’s activities are
managed or organised by its ‘senior
management’ was a substantial element
in the breach of the duty of care
Legislation
‘Senior management’:People who play significant roles in
making decisions about how the
organisation’s activities are
managed
How senior? = grey area
Legislation
Duty of care owed by organisation:1)To employees or others working for
the organisation
2)As the occupier of premises
3)When undertaking various activities
e.g. supply of goods or services
4)To persons held in custody or
otherwise detained
Legislation
Act not applicable to deaths
1)Due primarily to negligence of a
co-worker
2)Occurring for reasons which cannot
be laid at the door of managers with
confined line management
responsibilities
Legislation
Act does not require proof of any individual
being guilty of an offence – AS REQUIRED BY
‘OLD’ LAW
Legislation
Jury considers evidence which shows:1)The organisation failed to comply
with relevant legislation
2)The serious nature of that failure
3)How much of a risk of death was
posed as a result
4)That attitudes, policies, systems or
accepted practices were likely to
have encouraged such failure or
tolerance of it
Legislation
Jury considers extent to which:1)Management knew of the risks
2)Management sought financial gain
for the organisation from the failure
to comply with OHS legislation
Legislation
Penalties
UNLIMITED FINE
+
PUBLICITY ORDER – publication of the
offence and penalties
Legislation
Individual liability
 New Act has no impact on individual
liability
 As before can still be guilty of common
law manslaughter for gross negligence in
conduct of their management role
Legislation
How to prepare for the Act
 Identify activities with potential for
serious accidents
 Review relevant risk assessments and safe
systems of work
 Identify items arising which have not been
actioned e.g. from recent audits
 Present to ‘board’ on new Act
Legislation
How to prepare for the Act
 Ensure competence of managers and
supervisors i.e. training, experience and
attitude
 Seek measurable improvements in safety
culture among senior managers
 See HSE’s sample questionnaire at
www.hse.gov.uk/ IOD guidance
Health and Safety Management Systems
Health & Safety Management
Systems
HSG65 – Successful Health and Safety
Management
BS OHSAS 18001 – Occupational Health and
Safety Management Systems Specification
BS8800
HSG65
HSG65
 “Successful Health and Safety Management”
 The only management system “approved” by
HSE
HSG65
Policy
Policy
Development
Organisation
Organisational
Development
Auditing
Planning and
Implementation
Measuring
Performance
Reviewing
Performance
Developing
techniques of
planning,
measuring
and
reviewing
Feedback loop to
improve
performance
BS OHSAS 18001:2007
BS OHSAS 18001
 Accepted internationally across industries
as a demonstration of good management
practice
 Equivalent to ISO9001:2000 and
ISO14001:1996 in structure and format
BS
OHSAS
18001
Management
review
Continual Improvement
OH&S Policy
Planning
Checking and
corrective action
Implementation
and operation
Legal Requirements
OH&S Policy
BS OHSAS 18001
HSG65
BS OHSAS18001
 Appropriate
 Allied to business
 Include continual
improvement
 Include
HSG65
risks
 Include TQM
(PDCA)
commitment to
 Systematic approach
comply with law
 Implemented
 Implemented
 Communicated
 Reviewed
Allied to HR
management
 Reviewed
OH&S Policy
Implementation and Operation
Output
 A comprehensive, understandable OH&S
Policy that is communicated throughout the
organisation
Legal Requirements
Planning
BS OHSAS
18001
Hazard ID and Risk
assessment and
control
Legal requirements
Objectives
Management
Programmes
HSG65
BS OHSAS18001
Risk Control
Systems
Management
Arrangements
Workplace
precautions
Performance
standards –
KPMs
HSG65
Legal Requirements
Legal Requirements
A formal process to identify:-
– Legal requirements (new and changing)
– Best practice
– Benchmarking opportunities
– Information Sources
Planning
Output
 Risk Management Strategy
 Risk Control Systems
 Risk Profile
 Database of applicable law and guidance
 OH&S objectives for each part of the
business
 Documented Management Programmes
Planning
Legal Requirements
Implementation
and
Operation
BS OHSAS
18001
Structure and
Responsibilities
Competence
Consultation and
Communication
Documentation
Document and Data
Control
Operational Control
Emergency Planning
HSG65
BS OHSAS18001
HSG65
Define
responsibilities and
relationships
Competence
Communication and
Co-operation
Control
Management
Arrangements
KPIs
Implementation and Operation
Implementation and Operation
Output
 Description of roles and responsibilities
 CMS
 Safety communications
 A written management system
 Document Control Procedure
 Workplace controls
 An emergency plan
Legal Requirements
Checking
And
Corrective Action
BS OHSAS 18001
HSG65
Performance
Active Monitoring
Monitoring
Accidents,
incidents and
non-conformance
monitoring and
analysis
Records and record
management
Audit
BS OHSAS18001
HSG65
Reactive
Monitoring
Accident
Investigation and
RCA
Audit (separate
section)
Checking and Corrective Action
Checking and Corrective Action
Output
 Inspection schedules and checklists
 Records of inspections etc
 Maintenance plans
 Accident and incident reports
 Accident investigation reports
 Audit reports
Legal Requirements
Management
Review
BS OHSAS
18001
HSG65
Review of
Reviewing
every part of the
system by top
management
BS OHSAS18001
Performance
Audit
HSG65
Management Review
Management Review
 Policy review
 Updating objectives
 Adequacy of risk management procedure
 Accident reporting and recording
 Proactive monitoring review
 Audit
 Changing environment
Legal Requirements
Continual
Improvement
Continual Improvement
Continual Improvement
 Should happen naturally
 Located in the feedback loops
 Information is gathered from every part of
the system
 That information is used to improve every
part of the system
 As something is improved it is checked and
reviewed – and so information is generated
for the next improvement
Any Questions?
Management Review
Thank you for your kind attention
Kevin Burniston and Lisa McCaulder