Act
A formal boardroom review of health and safety performance is essential. It allows the board to establish whether the essential health and safety principles – strong and active leadership, worker involvement, and assessment and review – have been embedded in the organisation. It tells you whether your system is effective in managing risk and protecting people.
Core actions
- The board should review health and safety performance at least once a year. The review process should:
- examine whether the health and safety policy reflects the organisation's current priorities, plans and targets;
- examine whether risk management and other health and safety systems have been effectively reporting to the board;
- report health and safety shortcomings, and the effect of all relevant board and management decisions;
- decide actions to address any weaknesses and a system to monitor their implementation;
- consider immediate reviews in the light of major shortcomings or events.
How it can be done
- Performance on health and safety and wellbeing is increasingly being recorded in organisations' annual reports to investors and stakeholders.
- Board members can make extra 'shop floor' visits to gather information for the formal review.
- Good health and safety performance can be celebrated at central and local level.
Case study: A leading supermarket with the involvement of all board directors was able to win reductions in sickness absence, reportable incidents and improvements in morale and pride in working for their company.
