New Report Reveals that Lack of Compulsion Causes Workplace Deaths

A new report commissioned by construction union UCATT and written by the Centre for Corporate Accountability titled Bringing Justice to the Boardroom, reveals the complete failure of the voluntary approach to reducing injuries and fatalities in the workplace. The report also reveals how the Health and Safety Executive have deliberately distorted their own research on this issue.

The report is published to coincide with the launch today of new voluntary guidance for directors published jointly by the Institute of Directors and the Health and Safety Commission.

Rather than following the failed voluntary approach the report demonstrates that a large number of lives could be saved every year if statutory legal health and safety duties for directors were adopted.

Alan Ritchie, general secretary of UCATT, said: “This damning report demonstrates the Government’s failure to introduce statutory legal duties forcing directors to take responsibility for their companies health and safety policies, is literally costing workers their lives.”

The report has discovered that the HSE’s own research reveals that since voluntary guidance on director’s duties was introduced in 2001 only 44 per cent of companies have actually appointed an individual director. Despite this the HSE have claimed that 79% of companies have such a director. In truth that figure only applies to a few very large companies with over 4,000 employees.

The report reveals that when a company does take positive action at director level regarding health and safety, major improvements are achieved. On average this leads to a 25 % reduction in accidents. In certain cases it has been recorded there has been an 80 % reduction in accidents when companies have taken a proactive approach.

The lack of statutory legal duties is further demonstrated by the revelation that on average in the last five years only 7 directors/senior managers have been convicted of health and safety offences. Which compares poorly with a yearly death toll of over 200 workers.

The figures are particularly poor for the most dangerous industry: construction from 2002/3 – 2006/7, 347 construction workers were killed but just 13 directors/senior managers were prosecuted.

The report also reveals that the HSE’s own Regulatory Impact Assessment into he costs of introducing statutory legal guidance, underplays the financial benefits of introducing statutory legal guidance by a tenfold figure.

Despite the introduction of legal statutory director’s duties being supported by the TUC and the policy of the Labour Party, the recent Corporate Manslaughter legislation failed to include such clauses.

Michael Clapham MP, chair of the all party occupational safety and health group, said: “This report should be required reading for all those who argued against the need to make director’s directly liable for company’s health and safety failures. It is essential that Parliament have the opportunity to revisit this matter at the earliest possible opportunity."

To download a full copy of the report, click here.