New health and safety laws would only drive a 'tick box' mentality

摘要

The government has been urged to resist pressure for new health and safety laws, with a new survey showing that company directors are already taking a leading role in safety management. EEF, the manufacturers' organisation has urged government and the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) to resist pressures for new legal duties on company directors, following a survey which shows a substantial increase in the number of directors taking a leading role in their companies' health and safety management. Under pressure to introduce new duties on company directors, HSE has given employers until 2010 to demonstrate that the current approach works or face a change in the law. According to EEF's 2008 Health and Safety survey, directors in over 80% of companies are actively involved in managing health and safety. In addition, in the last three years there has been a 40% rise in the number of company boards who monitor health and safety management as part of their Key Performance Indicators.