Health and Safety at Board Level: Your Personal Responsibilities Explained

Health and safety is no longer something that sits quietly with a manager in the background. When something goes seriously wrong, investigators do not just look at the company. They can look at the people in charge.

For directors and senior leaders, health and safety is a personal responsibility. It is not just about compliance. It is about leadership.

The legal reality in simple terms:

The law requires companies to protect the health, safety and welfare of employees and anyone affected by their work.

However, the law also says this: if a company commits a health and safety offence, and it happened because a director agreed to it, ignored it, or failed to take reasonable steps to prevent it, that director can be prosecuted personally.

This means:

• Directors can be taken to court alongside the company.

• Fines can be unlimited.

• In serious cases, prison sentences are possible.

• Directors can be disqualified from holding their position.

Saying “I didn’t know” is not usually a defence. Directors are expected to understand the key risks in their business and ensure they are being managed properly.

You can delegate tasks, not responsibility. Many boards believe that appointing a Health and Safety Manager or hiring a consultant removes their risk. It does not.

Directors are expected to:

• Understand the main risks in their organisation.

• Ensure proper risk assessments are carried out.

• Ensure their people have the correct training to do their job.

• Provide enough budget, time and people to manage risk.

• Review performance regularly.

• Act when standards are not good enough.

If health and safety is only discussed after an accident, that is a warning sign.

What regulators look for:

When the HSE investigates a serious incident, they ask simple but powerful questions:

• Was health and safety discussed at board meetings?

• Were previous warnings or near misses ignored?

• Were staff concerns taken seriously?

• Was cost or production prioritised over safety?

• Were resources cut in a way that increased risk?

Emails, meeting minutes and reports are often reviewed. Patterns matter. If there is a history of ignoring advice or delaying improvements, attention can quickly turn to individual directors.

This is where People Safety Success becomes more than a phrase.

People, Safety, Environment, Success, means:

• Safety is discussed at the same level as finance and strategy.

• Leaders talk about safety before incidents happen, not just after.

• Staff feel confident raising concerns.

• Improvements are acted on quickly.

• Safety performance is measured properly.

When safety is built into leadership decisions, the risk of harm reduces. So does the risk of prosecution.

Directors do not need to be technical experts. They do need to be able to show they took reasonable steps.

In practical terms, that means being able to demonstrate that you:

• Have approved and understand the company’s health and safety policy.

• Provided the correct training.

• Ask questions about high-risk activities.

• Ensure independent audits are carried out where needed.

• Follow up on actions and recommendations.

• Visit sites and speak to staff about safety.

Culture starts at the top. Many prosecutions are not caused by one mistake. They are caused by culture.

Warning signs include:

• Unrealistic targets.

• Delayed maintenance.

• Poor supervision.

• Tolerating shortcuts.

• Ignoring near misses.

Directors influence culture through what they focus on. If financial results are reviewed weekly but safety is only discussed after an injury, people notice.

How Craven can help:

• Delivering director-level legal awareness briefings in plain English.

• Supporting the development of clear, workable policies and procedures.

• Strengthening links between HR and health and safety, particularly around training, competence and workplace culture.

• Providing ongoing advisory support so directors have access to competent advice when decisions need to be made.

Get in touch today if you require any help with the above:

H&S Services & Pricing – Craven Consultancy Services

HR Services & Pricing – Craven Consultancy Services