Donate My RoSPA
    Basket is empty.
Net Total: £0.00

Director leadership and involvement in health and safety

With so many unanswered questions no organisation, however outstanding, can afford not to review their corporate governance of health and safety.

Directors need to be able to show that they have taken all reasonable steps to manage risks, and have effective health and safety management systems in place, including arrangements for involving their workforce.

In the decade it has taken to secure the introduction of the new offence of Corporate Manslaughter (CM), there has been a growing focus on the health and safety responsibilities of directors and senior managers in all organisations.

It is essential that as a board director or senior manager you have the strategic vision to view health and safety as:

  • A board level corporate performance issue
  • An important dimension of your Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy
  • An integral aspect of your corporate governance risk policy
  • A key parameter on which you report openly to your stakeholders and ensure involvement with your work force
  • An essential part of continuous improvement to achieve business success.

Director or Senior Manager? How are you measuring up to the health and safety leadership challenge?

In October 2007 the Institute of Directors and the then Health and Safety Commission (HSC) launched important joint guidance entitled "Leading health and safety at work" This is authoritative guidance aimed at those in the boardroom. It was drafted by an expert panel representing employers' organisations from the public, private and voluntary sectors, trade unions, the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health and the University of Warwick. Find out more

Directors' involvement in health and safety training - available in England & Scotland

This interactive training workshop reflects HSE/IoD guidance and provides an opportunity to explore the benefits of a 'beyond compliance' approach at board level. Over one day, it allows organisations to reflect on the importance of health and safety as a corporate governance issue, and the directors' role in delivery. Emphasis is on addressing issues both competently and systematically and delegates have the opportunity to explore HSE case studies where the 'health and safety equation' has been balanced. See full course details, dates and prices.

This course can also be held on an in-company basis and the programme may be tailored to incorporate your own organisation's safety management system documentation and case studies.

RoSPA's new director's masterclass/briefing service

To help directors and senior managers to assess their leadership in this vital area, RoSPA are proud to introduce to you new and unique, tailored consultancy packages, delivered exclusively by Roger Bibbings MBE, RoSPA's National Occupational Safety Adviser.

Roger, who has over thirty years experience in advising on major health and safety policy issues, both at UK Government and international level, is a Chartered Fellow of the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health and the recipient of RoSPA's Distinguished Service Award as well as the IOSH President's Distinguished Service Certificate. He can deliver:

  • High-level briefings at board level, advising on director and senior manager involvement and providing guidance on best practice and practical route maps for continuous improvement
  • 1 to 1 reviews with individual directors and senior managers to assess their engagement with health and safety and to provide advice on options for continuing professional development
  • Facilitation of benchmarking with directors and senior managers in peer organisations
  • Advice on showcasing good practice.

The main outputs from these processes will be:

  • Recommendations for improving compliance with the new HSE/IoD guidance together with a suggested action plan
  • Advice for directors and senior managers, to help them improve their personal engagement and leadership style
  • Advice on options for improving the integrity and performance of health and safety management systems as a whole.

Quality safety audit scheme

Complementing the above is our Quality Safety Audit scheme (QSA), which provides a complete risk profile for an organisation. In addition we can offer a range of senior consultancy services, including advising you how to lead a programme to manage occupational road risk, for example, or how to achieve top-level Awards in health and safety.

In addition, as part of this service RoSPA can assess and demonstrate compliance with the international occupational health and safety management system, OHSAS 18001 as either part of the QSA system or as a stand-alone accreditation.

Directors' health and safety reporting (HSR)

This is a service which has developed out of RoSPA's substantial contribution to the updating of HSE guidance on directors' responsibilities. Particularly in light of the revision on the law on manslaughter, we can offer:

  • Validating and reporting corporate health & safety performance data
  • Board level briefings
  • Master classes
  • Audits of Director Health and Safety Engagement
  • Best practice in Risk Assessment: addressing the holistic risk profiling required in BS8800

Going Public on Performance

Securing confirmation of your organisation's level of health and safety performance and reporting on this to your stakeholders is becoming ever more important to overall business success. At RoSPA we can help you to:

  • Report publicly on your policies, performance and targets
  • Advise on future priorities and targets
  • Advice on preparing a performance file for your annual report, website and tenders
  • One–to-one performance benchmarking with other high performers in health & safety
  • Completion of other Safety Performance Indices or assessment scheme

Corporate social responsibility and reducing absenteeism – 24/7 Safety

RoSPA research shows that 10-20% of workplace absenteeism is as a result of injuries sustained outside the workplace. If you are one of those employers seeking to help your staff reduce these injuries, we can design and deliver programmes to help you to tackle the issue.

Specifically we can help you adapt and extend workplace health and safety information and training programmes to encourage staff to apply safety and skills outside work, such as at home (DIY, gardening, cooking, fireworks), in leisure pursuits (weekend motorcycling, extreme sports, moving house) and while driving. RoSPA can undertake assessments to gauge the scope for reducing injuries in this way, focusing on the business case. This addresses the requirement for organisations to demonstrate their Corporate Social Responsibility in a totally new way.


Contact Us

General Enquiries
+44 (0)121 248 2000
+44 (0)121 248 2001
[email protected]
Contact form