This guidance is for all directors, governors, trustees, officers and their equivalents who provide strategic leadership and direction on managing risks in their organisation.
It applies to organisations of all sizes in the private, public and third sectors. Public bodies include government departments, non-departmental public bodies and agencies, NHS trusts, local authorities, schools, colleges and universities.
The third sector includes voluntary and community organisations, charities, social enterprises, cooperatives and mutuals.
There is separate advice on:
Why leadership is important
Effective health and safety performance comes from the top. This guidance shows why leadership on health and safety is important. Following it will help your organisation find the best ways to lead and promote health and safety, and therefore meet its legal obligations.
Our guidance on the essential principles of leadership in health and safety can be used by directors and board members to lead health and safety effectively in their organisation.
The Plan, Do, Check, Act approach
The guidance sets out core actions that relate directly to the legal duties of an organisation. These are intended to set a standard and our guidelines provide ideas on how you might achieve the core actions:
- plan – set the direction for health and safety
- do – deliver effective management systems
- check – monitor and report your performance
- act– review your health and safety performance
Legal duties
The guidance summarises the legal responsibilities of leaders to ensure the health and safety of workers and others affected by work activities.
Our page on legislation on leading health and safety at work includes guidance on:
- the legal liabilities of directors and board members
- the legal responsibilities of employers
- the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act
Case studies
We have case studies on leading health and safety at work. These have been selected to be relevant to most sectors and they mark issues for all board to consider. They illustrate:
- where good leadership has helped to improve health and safety
- failures that show the severe consequences that can arise when boards members do not lead effectively on health and safety management
Checklist
Our leadership checklist will help you ask the right questions in assessing whether you are leading on health and safety effectively. It will help you:
- review your arrangements against the recommendations in this guidance
- make changes as appropriate
The status of this guidance
This guidance is issued jointly by the Institute of Directors (IoD) and HSE. The work was overseen by an IoD-led steering group comprising nominees from the:
- Confederation of British Industry (CBI)
- Federation of Small Businesses (FSB)
- Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH)
- Local Government Association (LGA)
- National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO)
- National Health Service (NHS) Confederation
- Trades Union Congress (TUC)
- University of Warwick
Although reference is made to existing legal obligations, following the guidance is not in itself obligatory. However, if you do follow it you will normally be doing enough to help your organisation meet its legal obligations.
In considering the liability of an organisation under the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act, a jury must consider any breaches of health and safety legislation and may take any health and safety guidance into account. In addition to other health and safety guidance, this guidance could be a relevant consideration for a jury, depending on the circumstances of the particular case.