Being up to date with Health and Safety policies can not only save you money but save lives too.
On the 6th of April 2008, the Corporate Manslaughter Act came into force in the UK, whereby if an employee has an accident resulting in a death and the company is found not to have “a relevant duty of care”, it could be liable and face prosecution and unlimited fines.
Many people assume this is only relevant for employees on-site, and do provide adequate training in the form of general health and safety, food safety, risk assessment and working with hazardous substances, for example. However, many do not stop to think about their employees who are out on the road during the course of their work.
It has been estimated that up to a third of all road traffic accidents involve somebody who is at work at the time. In the UK this may account for over 20 fatalities and 250 serious injuries every week.* Now this may not in itself seem too shocking considering the number of people whose job entails an element of driving, however the consequences may shock employers now that the Corporate Manslaughter Act is effective.
Employers must look at embedding work-related road safety into their company policies to protect themselves as well ensuring their insurance policies are capable of paying out if faced with a hefty fine. What it really means is that employers are obliged to ensure that their employees are capable of safe driving and do so, as well as having all vehicles in good working order, insured and taxed.
So how do you make your employees slow down when late for an appointment, ensure they take adequate breaks to avoid falling asleep at the wheel and stop texting and chatting on mobile phones? At the end of the day you can’t but you can reduce the risks by providing relevant training, information and company policy.
Compliance training within all organisations is paramount, and must cover all areas of risk to reduce the possibility of facing prosecution for an incident that could be avoided. So whether it is safety in food handling, the dispensing of medication or the driving standards of your employees, the onus is on the employer to provide the training or face what could be detrimental consequences.
A sobering thought for many.
*DFT
The advice about educating your workforce about your policies is exactly right. A Policy is useless if no-one reads or understands it.
Nigel
Thanks Nigel for your comment. I think given the potential consequences of the new act employers will hopefully now be more aware of the importance of ensuring employees do understand policies. Providing adequate training and reinforcing the learning on an ongoing basis must become part of any organisations strategy.
We use the resonable man theory when looking at what was expected from the driver of the vehicle when having to travel by road to an emergency or any other form of duty. We also use the “shortest and most direct route” concept to determine whether the correct route was taken. Other factors influencing this concept is whether it was a company vehicle, subsidised transport or the employees’ own vehicle. The fact remains that we need to educate and train employees and employers towards a concept of “safety is a way of life” approach. Regards Christel – http://www.christelfouche.com
People should read this.
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