Trend to ignore safety in recession could see oil and gas managers jailed
03 March 2009
An alarming trend of companies apparently ignoring health and safety in an attempt to save costs during the recession could result in oil and gas managers facing jail.
Leading training company Pivotal Performance is warning firms to keep health and safety a top priority, even when times are tough.
Trend to ignore safety in recession could see oil and gas managers jailed
It’s in response to a recent survey by a legal firm National Accident Helpline, which found that 62% of employees thought their boss was placing less emphasis on health and safety.
Pivotal Performance points to a law which came in just five weeks ago, which could see managers and directors jailed if one of their employees is hurt at work.
The Health and Safety Offences Act 2008 started on 16th January 2009, and makes oil employers personally accountable for the safety of their employees.
Breaches could see managers or directors jailed, or face Magistrates fines of up to £20,000.
Willie Bell is the regional manager of Pivotal Performance in Glasgow.
Bell said: “If this survey is to be believed, then companies are putting their managers and directors at risk of jail for the sake of cost savings. That’s not a clever thing to do, even in a recession.
“The safety of staff must be the number one priority for all companies, no matter how badly they are doing. One accident is all it can take to wipe a business out.”
Bell added: “34 million days are lost a year due to a work related injury or accident. Reducing the focus on health and safety is not a risk that any company can afford to take.”
Pivotal Performance is one of the UK’s leading health and safety training companies with offices in Scotland and Northamptonshire.
It has a method of training people called PPTplus, which teaches delegates how to win commitment from others, not just compliance.
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