One year after new sentencing guidelines for health and safety offences, corporate manslaughter, and food safety and hygiene offences came into force in February 2016, the number of health and safety prosecutions against directors has tripled and UK businesses have seen a dramatic rise in the value of health and safety fines.

In fact, in 2016, the 20 largest health and safety fines totalled £38.6 million. This is a significant increase, especially when compared to the previous two years, whose 20 largest fines totalled £13.5 million in 2015 and £4.3 million in 2014. The total value of health and safety fines imposed on businesses increased by 43 per cent in the six months since the new guidelines were introduced, according to research from global law firm, Clyde & Co.

These new guidelines place a much higher burden on directors and senior managers for ensuring health and safety in their organisations, and make it increasingly likely that they could go to prison for both intentional breaches or a flagrant disregard for their responsibilities.

Avoid these new debilitating fines by conducting a thorough risk management and health and safety review of your premises and policies. In addition, you should solicit the input of your employees, since asking them to identify their health and safety concerns can be invaluable in finding hazards that would not have been obvious to upper-level managers.

Contact Lockyers today to discuss your Directors’ and Officers’ insurance. Directors’ and Officers’ Insurance, also known as Management Liability Policy, will provide cover against claims arising from a breach of trust and duty, neglect, error, misleading statements and wrongful trading or defending / settling health and safety, manslaughter or employment claims. Cover can be tailored to include protection for directors and the company against litigation, cover for the company in employment tribunals (including awards granted to the employee) and also for pension trustees liability.