Folks Just a quick question that my MD has asked me and I would like your take on it. At present our MD signs the policy. He asked me could the 3 other Directors sign it along with him so that they are aware that they have responsibilites for health and safety. ED

Common practice for one of those directors to have special responsibility for H&S

Its common practice where I work to have "Personal Charters" where individual management figures sign on to company Safety and Quality policies and accept their individual post responsibilities. These charters are openly displayed within our Safety Plan which is a living document available to all employees through the company intranet.

Please, please, please can we stop this practice of getting Managing or other directors to sign health and safety policies. It is a dangerous practice that could have serious consequences for the individuals concerned and then possibly you as the health and safety practitioner. Health and safety duties are owed by the organisation as the employer and not by the board as a whole or by individual directors, as these duties are non delegable. Therefore a director should only sign a policy for and on behalf of the organisation. Responsibilities should only be delegated to the extent that matters are within that person's control. To do otherwise could be akin to painting a large target on them and saying to the prosecuting authorities come and get this person. On a weekly basis I have to advise client MDs/CEOs of the above and they tend not to be best pleased with their health and safety adviser who suggested that they sign the policy "to show commitment to health and safety". We all know directors who could not care less about health and safety but getting them prosecuted could also have serious implications for your future with the organisation. Please message me if you have any questions, or you would like further information. Many thanks. DJ

dj so HSG 65 OHSAS 18001 standards are being bettered by? who signing them? Who has the direction of the company if not the director of or CEO of the company. Oh you mean the lathe operator from the shop floor who has a grumpy supervisor shouting the odds at him. "We all know directors who could not care less about health and safety but getting them prosecuted could also have serious implications for your future with the organisation" It could also have serious implications for the safety and health of employees, OH forgot their the ones setting the direction of the company. So the directors and ceo's have no responsibilities any where up north now because all the policies are signed by ?

Corporate Manslaughter has come in essentially to porridge MD's (as in effect they ARE the Body Corporate - the acting mind) for acts/omissions relating to H&S failures. You cannot suddenly NOT get the Director with H&S responsibilities to sign the Policy Statement and think its all ok! 'You ain't signed it so you'll be alright' - it don't work like that! It's been best practise, no more than that, its been standard practise since Adam was a lad for the Policy Statement to be signed by the Directing Mind with H&S responsibilities. Why wouldn't you?!

Damel wrote: "Corporate Manslaughter has come in essentially to porridge MD's " Am I misunderstanding something? CM does not confer any right to prosecute individuals. It allows the firm to be prosecuted following a workplace fatality without the need (as in the past) to secure a conviction of an individual. It could be said that prior to CM it was more dangerous for a director to sign a H&S Policy statement since that could be a route to them being sued for Gross Negilgence Manslaughter. But then again Gross Neg still exists so perhaps there is little difference! Phil

Your bang on Phil - sorry my bad, GNM still stands and is actually what the MD would (could) go for. CM generaly fines the Company - quite often as you point out they live hand in hand on the shelf and are thrown in the direction of the company/individual at the same time. so, CM, GNM, s37, s36, s7 - one way or another all angles pretty much covered ;-)