RoSPA contributing to directors’ duties debate

THE Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) is seeking its members’ views on the best way to enhance the director-level leadership of health and safety within businesses and organizations.

The results of the safety charity’s formal members’ survey, launched this week, will be presented to the Health and Safety Executive, which is investigating the effectiveness of guidance currently issued to directors and senior managers about their health and safety responsibilities.

Central to discussions about directors’ duties is the question of whether further guidance or stronger regulatory intervention is required to enhance the leadership of accident and ill-health prevention.

RoSPA members are being asked whether they favour guidance or regulation as the best way to motivate directors, taking into consideration issues such as liability, red-tape burdens and clarity.

The Society, which has both individual and corporate members, has helped lead the national debate on enhancing director leadership of health and safety since 1998, when it launched its DASH (Director Action on Health and Safety) initiative.

Roger Bibbings, RoSPA occupational safety adviser, said: ‘The issue is not new but the introduction of the offence of corporate manslaughter has meant that director and senior-management behaviour in preventing avoidable harms has come under closer scrutiny than ever before.

‘At present, there is a sharp divide between those who favour more regulation and those who prefer guidance.

‘All sides agree, however, that effective director leadership of health and safety can never be regarded as an optional extra and that, in practice, it is a critical factor in securing good health and safety performance.’

The RoSPA members’ survey will close on 5 June 2009.