2008
(15/01/2008) AXA advises directors to review health and safety
AXA is advising directors to review their company's health and safety procedures in preparation of the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act, which takes effect from April 6, 2008. Failure by senior management to ensure compliance with health and safety law may leave the company open to being charged under the new offence, should a work related death occur.
Under the new offence, companies and organisations can be found liable for a work-related death if actions at a senior level amount to a gross breach of a duty of care to the deceased. The new Act removes the need to find an individual responsible, thus making it easier to convict a corporation.
Doug Barnett, Head of Customer Risk Management commented: "To ensure compliance, we strongly advise directors to evaluate the company's current health and safety management system. An effective system will take into account the risks posed to employees, customers and anyone else affected by the company’s activities. Involvement from the top level of an organisation will demonstrate that health and safety is a high priority. It will also help ensure that practices are implemented correctly.
"Getting health and safety right not only helps to protect an organisation from being prosecuted under this serious offence, but it can help to reduce costs as there are less compensation pay outs and days taken off by employees recovering from injuries. Setting up the people and processes to control these risks, need not be expensive and does not have to be overly bureaucratic, but what this change in the law does, is to remind everyone that ignoring these risks is not an option."
AXA's top five tips for health and safety management
- Ensure that health and safety is a top management priority by placing responsibility with the board and/or a director.
- Assess the risks facing the company. Update these assessments as business operations change.
- Involve employees in the risk assessment and ensure there is an effective communication process for the raising of problems and issues.
- Regularly monitor and objectively assess performance.
- Benchmark performance against current best practice.
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About AXA
AXA UK is a part of the AXA Group. AXA Group is a worldwide leader in Financial Protection. AXA's operations are diverse geographically, with major operations in Europe, North America and the Asia/Pacific area. For the full year 2006 global IFRS revenues amounted to €79 billion.
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