Clearview National June 2016 - Issue 175 | Page 25

INDUSTRYNEWS

Large UK companies
feel the heat on
H&S Breaches
»»LARGE UK COMPANIES ARE
feeling the heat of bigger fines for serious
breaches of health and safety law, says the
British Safety Council.
During the past two years, the Council
has argued that the planned changes to the
sentencing guidelines for health and safety
offences would result in significantly greater
fines.
The recent prosecutions of two major UK
companies have demonstrated the significance
of the recent changes in sentencing guidelines
that will be applied by courts in England and
Wales for health and safety offences.
Neal Stone, Policy and Standards Director
at the British Safety Council, said that the
changes have been a long time coming. “The
conviction of Travis Perkins at Aylesbury
Crown Court, following the death of Mark
Pointer in November 2012, together with the
conviction of Balfour Beatty Utility Solutions
Ltd at Preston Crown Court, following the
death of James Sim in April 2010, provide
clear evidence that the courts are getting tough
with organisations who are found guilty of
serious breaches of health and safety law.
“The possibility of significantly larger fines
is now a reality. Rightly so: Travis Perkins
was fined £2 million and Balfour Beatty
Utility Solutions Ltd was fined £2.6 million,
following convictions for breaches of health
and safety law. The warning signs from the
courts have been there for some time. Senior

judges, including the Lord Chief Justice, have
argued that changes in sentencing practice
were much needed.
“The British Safety Council, having
consulted its members, publicly supported
the changes to the sentencing guidelines. We
strongly believe that the Sentencing Council
has adopted the right approach, with the courts
now being required to assess the culpability of
the defendant, the degree of actual or potential
harm caused and the financial turnover of the
organisation.
“As the guidelines make clear, there will be
occasions when the fines imposed will be so
large that they will lead to closing down the
offending business. The British Safety Council
trusts the courts to apply the sanctions wisely.
Larger fines by themselves, whilst justified, will
not bring back to life Mark Pointer and James
Sim. We must continue our work to prevent
tragic and needless deaths and injuries in our
workplaces.
“We are concerned that these two cases took
years to come to court – four years in the case
of Travis Perkins and six years in the case of
Balfour Beatty Utility Solutions. Commitments
were given by HSE and the government in
response to the concerns raised by Professor
Löfstedt in his review of our health and safety
framework about the inordinate length of time
it was taking to bring cases to court. These two
cases demonstrate the continuing problem.
Justice is not served by such delays.

“Large fines will not be effective if they do
not contribute to greater compliance. It will be
some time before we see the extent to whi ch
large fines influence the behaviour of those
with health and safety responsibilities. In the
meantime, we will undoubtedly be seeing
more fines of this magnitude imposed by the
courts.”
BUSINESS BENEFITS
Good health and safety is good business.
The British Safety Council has published a
report on the business benefits of health and
safety that brings together major evidence
published in the UK and Europe showing the
positive economic impact of reducing risks to
the health and safety of workers – see www.
britsafe.org/policy-and-opinion/research#bus_
ben
THE HEALTH AND SAFETY
FOR DIRECTORS AND SENIOR
MANAGERS COURSE
This is a one-day course covering legal
requirements and best practice for directors,
senior managers and HR professionals. It
gives a comprehensive understanding of
responsibilities and best practice, as well as
the benefits of health and safety to the bottom
line.

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