4. Act: review your health and safety performance
A formal boardroom review of health and safety performance is essential. It allows the board to establish whether the essential health and safety principles have been embedded in the organisation:
- strong and active leadership
- worker involvement[4]
- assessment and review
It also tells you whether your system is effective in managing risk and protecting people.
Find out more about the essential health and safety principles[5].
Core actions
The board should review health and safety performance at least once a year. The review process should:
- examine whether the health and safety policy[6] reflects the organisation's current priorities, plans and targets
- examine whether risk management[7] and other health and safety systems have been effectively reporting to the board
- report health and safety shortcomings, and the effect of all relevant board and management decisions
- decide actions to address any weaknesses and a system to monitor their implementation
- consider immediate reviews in the light of major shortcomings or events
How it can be done
Performance on health and safety and wellbeing is increasingly being recorded in organisations' annual reports to investors and stakeholders.
Board members can make extra 'shop floor' visits to gather information for the formal review.
Good health and safety performance can be celebrated at central and local level.
Find out more in Managing for health and safety (HSG65)[8].
Case studies
You can find case studies of leading on health and safety[9].
Checklist
Our leadership checklist[10] will help you ask the right questions in assessing whether you are leading on health and safety effectively.