In health and safety breaches, directors can face legal action. You can insure yourself against that risk
Many coach and bus operators fail to recognise that by breaching health and safety law, they could face trial not just as a corporate entity, but as a director or manager – deemed to have not exercised their statutory duty of care.
We are increasingly seeing the CPS charge directors it deems to have broken the law, often simply because they hold the title of director and should have known what was happening in their company.
In one case, action was taken against the Finance Director. It is not just those involved in day-to-day operations in the yard who could be in jeopardy.
Directors and officers could face a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, if found negligent in their handling of health and safety.
We are also seeing fines for health and safety breaches rocket, under the 2016 HSE sentencing guidelines. May 2018’s average fine was £375,000.
The forecast is cloudy for coach and bus operators who have not got their health and safety house in order, or who have unwittingly left glaring holes in their risk assessments and strategies to combat risk.
Being too close to the subject matter is an issue. We sometimes fail to notice the glaringly obvious. It often takes a trained pair of eyes to view a business objectively and draw up a health and safety policy and recommended actions.
Having a specialist in the industry do this is hugely advantageous.
While insurance would not pay your fines, Directors and Officers insurance can help cover the costs of a defence, to try to prevent a guilty verdict by pleading mitigating circumstances or highlighting a positive safety culture.
Such cover is becoming harder to buy, but with our extensive network of insurers, Gauntlet Risk Management can probably find you protection. It’s a safety net well worth having.
