Health and safety risks are a ‘very’ or ‘extremely important’ concern for 84% of respondents to our Global Directors’ and Officers’ Survey Report 2024. The move represents a jump from an average of 45% over the previous three years, with health and safety now the number- one overall concern, knocking cyber-attacks off the top spot, where it has been for the last three years.
On top of the potentially significant human, commercial and reputational impact, serious health and safety incidents can prompt regulatory investigations by the police and regulators such as the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), HSE or other regulators thereafter have the authority to take legal enforcement action in the form of prosecution in the criminal courts following an investigation. If convicted or pleading guilty, Magistrates and Crown Courts can impose significant fines on companies, as well as fines and even custodial sentences for individual directors, managers, and employees following damaging health and safety incidents.
By developing a crisis management strategy, you can enhance your organisation’s resilience and its ability to respond effectively in the event of a major workplace health and safety incident.
In this insight, we look at the five key steps to develop an effective crisis management strategy to respond to a health and safety incident.
Different organisations involve different inherent risks. What are your main health and safety risk areas and where is an incident most likely to happen? Identifying these gives you the best chance to prepare a plan to react to the most damaging and most likely situations.
For example, if you’re a construction company, your primary risk areas might include falls from height, accidents involving heavy machinery or exposure to hazards. If you’re in logistics, your risks could be related to vehicle safety or dangers associated with manual handling of goods.
The immediate aftermath of a health and safety workplace incident has the potential to be highly stressful and emotional. To ensure clear crisis management leadership after a health and safety incident, part of developing your strategy should involve establishing a crisis management team, who will be tasked with managing the immediate aftermath.
Your crisis management team may include senior leadership positions within your organisation, but in setting up the team, you will need to clarify and document their crisis management roles and responsibilities, distinguishing these from their regular duties.
You should also establish a clear chain of responsibility, with designated backups for any absent or unreachable crisis management team members.
Your crisis management plan will be the blueprint for your crisis management team to follow in the event of a health and safety incident.
Make sure the plan is well-documented and easily accessible should an incident occur. Your crisis management plan should outline the immediate steps post-incident and assign specific responsibilities. Amongst other actions, the plan should include designated responsibility for:
You can test your plan’s resilience and identify any crisis management gaps by running simulated exercises.
Following the immediate aftermath of a major health and safety incident, the police or regulators may start an external investigation.
In the most serious incidents, where there has sadly been a loss of life, the police will initially lead an investigation under Work-related Death Protocol, to investigate whether any of the most serious criminal offences have been committed. The police will initially look for any evidence of corporate manslaughter or whether any individual has committed gross negligence manslaughter.
If the police are satisfied there is no suggestion of corporate or gross negligence manslaughter, or if there has thankfully not been any loss of life, under the Protocol they will normally hand responsibility (sometimes referred to as ‘primacy’) of the investigation over to the relevant regulator.
Health and safety incidents are normally investigated by HSE, but other regulators may be involved or lead the investigation, depending on the circumstances and nature of the incident. For example, the Office of Road and Rail (“ORR”) will investigate incidents that occur on the railways, whereas the Environmental Health department of the relevant local authority is responsible for investigating incidents in leisure and hospitality settings, including food allergy incidents.
The police and regulators have broad statutory powers to gather evidence. They can seize documents, whether in hard copy or digital form and impound vehicles or any other machinery involved in an incident. They also have the authority to conduct interviews and obtain written statements from relevant individuals. While interviews are typically for witnesses, individuals suspected of personal offenses may also be subject to interviews under caution.
The emotional impact on someone involved in a serious health and safety incident is significant, especially if it involves colleagues or friends. It's crucial you consider the well-being of those involved when police or regulators request statements and take steps to ensure there is clarity for anyone being interviewed as to whether they are doing so as a witness or a suspect.
In health and safety regulatory investigations, the HSE may also request written statements under caution from companies suspected of breaching health and safety laws. You should be prepared to seek legal advice in the preparation of a statement under caution if the HSE makes this request to your organisation.
A designated member of your crisis management team should serve as the main contact for external investigators; coordinating witness interviews, information requests and maintaining an internal record of provided items and documents. If investigators request original documents, the team should also ensure you keep copies for internal records.
The ability to effectively respond to and manage a major health and safety incident at work can significantly impact your organisation’s short and long-term commercial and reputational standing. Regulatory investigations can be lengthy, spanning months or even years, highlighting the importance of proactive measures to react appropriately and minimise potential damage.
Seeking crisis management guidance can not only significantly enhance your organisation’s ability to meet expected regulatory standards but also minimise adverse outcomes
To discover a smarter way to understand and mitigate health and safety risks, get in touch.
