A 'gap in the law' on directors' safety duties

The comments were made as representatives of the Centre for Corporate Accountability (CCA) gave evidence to the select committee inquiry into the work of the Health and Safety Commission and Executive.

They told the committee that the lack of a legal framework on directors' duties had "serious implications for both prevention and accountability."

The CCA claimed that both the Health and Safety Commission (HSC) and the HSE had acknowledged that the conduct of company directors could be "crucial" to the safe management of a company and that research had shown that laws were the "principle mechanism" to motivate senior executives on safety at work.

It added that the HSC has decided to adopt a "voluntarist" approach without any evidence of its effectiveness and in contradiction to its own and international studies.

A full summary of the CCA's evidence to the select committee is available on the organisation's website (see link above/right).

Angie Bell