Why you should NOT be concerned about Health and Safety Prosecutions
It may seem a bit bizarre to tell you not to worry about a Health and Safety prosecution. After all, shouldn't I be trying to motivate you into action by some good old fashion scaremongering? The reality is though that the chance of being prosecuted are low; in this blog I'll talk about the likelihood of being prosecuted and why there are much better reasons to having a working health and safety system and culture.
First of all you need to have a serious harm accident - there is a specific definition but as the title suggests, something serious. Having had the accident, you are by law required to report this accident to the Department of Labour. And given we are a small country, it is impossible to hide such an accident so is not worth the risk of non-reporting. In fact, the courts will punish any non-reporting quite aggressively. The latest fine for non-reporting, which required the Company to inform the DoL with a phone call and filling in an A4 piece of paper, was a whopping $70 000 (discounted from $100k for 'good behaviour'). The reported serious harm accident then triggers the Department of Labour's own processes.
The Department of Labour may decide to have an inspector involved in an investigation, and then to take a case to court. However, because the DoL are only funded to take a certain number of cases to court, less than 2% of serious harm health and safety accidents are prosecuted by the DoL. And they tend to pick their cases in an attempt to get the most return. Which industry needs an example set? What case spans many industries?
If found in breach of the HSE Act, your business will be fined (which are not able to be insured against) and ordered to pay reparations to the victim. In 2008 the High Court have set a low culpability fine starting at $50 000, and increasing to $200 000 with up to 2 years in jail for serious health and safety offences.
The Threat of a Health and Safety Prosecution is Not An Effective Motivator
While businesses are concerned about a potential court case, the reality is very few businesses are introducing Health and Safety Systems. Production and survival is more pressing, so the argument goes, and that when we're successful and have the time then we'll look at Health and Safety. In the meanwhile, there are taxes to pay, marketing to be developed, clients to establish relationships with, contracts to win, and finally products and services to be delivered. On top of that, the HR manager (usually given the Health and Safety job) is just running to stand-still, dealing with personnel issues. In effect, the business believes it can not devote any time to H&S and is gambling nothing significant will happen in the 2-5 years it takes to get established.
The Real Rewards of a Health and Safety System
Businesses do not want to hurt people, and don’t want to break expensive equipment. But it is difficult to be motivated by something negative that may happen in the future (fine from a prosecution) verses the definite of today – selling products and services to make a living. However, there are positive and immediate from putting in a Health and Safety system today.
• Immediate ACC discount on your ACC levy
By putting in a Health and Safety system you are entitled to a reduction in how much you pay the ACC. This is a paper based audit and while it is only the first rung on the ladder to developing a strong and profitable business (see below), it is critical to receive this benefit. Why pay more than you need to?
The Health and Safety System was specifically designed to help you fast track and get this system in place asap.
• Increase in morale
Your staff wants a safe place to work – to return home at the end of each day. A safety system includes getting your staff involved. This means talking to each other and getting ideas to enhance safety. What businesses have found though is staff then comes up with other ideas to improve productivity. They get engaged with your business, and by increasing morale all measures of productivity and efficiency increase.
• Reducing accidents
As of April 2011 the ACC have a new experience rating. Effectively, your company is compared to your competitors in the same risk industry and given a positive (i.e. increased) or decreased ACC insurance loading – depending upon your performance. Reduce the number of injuries and your levy could be reduced.
The real rewards for implementing a Health and Safety system are much greater than the threat of a prosecution. The point of this blog though is to point out that the reason you should NOT be worried about the threat of prosecution, the stick, is that there are far more beneficial and positive reasons. And if you understand this and get motivated to take action today to receive these health and safety benefits, the ‘stick’ will not be an issue.
