No blame, no claim for health and safety from October
The days of businesses being held ‘strictly liable’ for accidents that take place on their premises even if they are unavoidable or not their fault are numbered, after changes to regulations in the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill were finally approved by the House of Lords.
These new measures had been due to come into force on 6 April as part of the common commencement date (CCD), but were held up by the House of Lords, which asked MPs to reconsider the changes. But the Commons rejected these calls, and the Lords finally has agreed the measures, which will now take effect on the next CCD, 1 October.
Welcoming the changes, the Forum for Private Business said the new focus on making employees more aware of and responsible for their own actions was something its own research had shown strong support for from small business owners.
FPB head of policy Alex Jackman said: “This is a deregulatory measure which means as long as an employer takes reasonable steps on H&S then they shouldn’t be subject to prosecution for things they couldn’t possibly have predicted or prevented.
“It’s a fact of life that accidents, unfortunately, sometimes do just happen with nothing that can be done to prevent them. This new approach to H&S goes a long way to recognising this.
“For too long the entire onus has been on the employer as part of a blame-game approach that has cost business millions, and has also tarnished people’s view of what’s a very serious and important subject.
“People have lost faith in health and safety, with organisations such as the Health and Safety Executive pilloried in the media, but along the way that’s dangerously undermined the issue in the eyes of the nation.
“We hope this new approach can help rebuild and restore faith and trust in workplace health and safety, while at the same time freeing businesses to get on with trading during difficult economic times.”
Twice a year the Forum updates its Health and Safety Guide to help business remain legally compliant. But it warned that while the new changes come in to effect in October, businesses still have a duty of care, much the same as now.
“While these changes are welcome, business owners must not be lulled into a false mindset that they are no longer governed by H&S requirements, or that their duty as an employer has ended. It hasn’t – and this is a dangerous way of thinking. The average cost of a H&S investigation after a breach of regulations is £20,000, so it’s very much the case of prevention always being better than cure.”
