The consultation paper on the new law proposes the appointment of a named board director to be responsible for health and safety.
However, a recent study by the British Safety Council found company bosses threatening to find a fall guy to take the blame for lapses in health and safety rather than risk a fine or imprisonment themselves.
Labour is committed to introducing new legislation on corporate manslaughter early in its second term if it wins the next election.
But one health & safety manager, who asked not to be named, told TheFB: 'There are firms I would not take employment with now, particularly with the possibility of this legislation.
'Those who treat [health and safety] as a necessary evil and don't support it with budgets, procedures and training will find it very difficult to hire professional health and safety staff.'
Campaign group the Centre for Corporate Accountability, which has fought long and hard for more stringent laws, has already pointed out to government ministers that the proposals pave the way for a fall-guy culture, skirting the real issue of corporate responsibility.
'We're proposing that all directors should have safety duties parallel with their financial duties,' says the centre's head, David Bergman. 'We back the nomination of a director with responsibility for health and safety but his duties should include keeping the board up to date about safety and any lapses. We need to create a loop so that the rest of the board cannot just sit back.'
The British Safety Council is also sceptical about the policy of naming an individual director to bring about a change in boardroom attitudes to safety issues. It argues that the whole board should take responsibility.
The government is facing increasing public pressure to change existing laws to make company directors more accountable.
Source
The Facilities Business
