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Think informative. Latest news and updates on issues affecting business
March 2014
Think
.
Employers facing harsher health and safety penalties Employers face tougher penalties from health and safety failings than they did five years ago, according to a recent report by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). The report assessed the first five years of the Health and Safety Offences Act (HSOA), which was passed in 2008 to increase the maximum penalties for workplace health and safety breaches that could be heard in both the lower and higher courts. MPs believed that if the penalties for defying health and safety regulations were intensified, offenders would think twice before avoiding their responsibilities as employers.
•
Employers facing harsher health and safety penalties.
•
Recent HSE news and prosecutions.
•
Prevent laptop theft.
•
Effective interview techniques.
Key findings of the report include the following:
•
Recent cyber security news and prosecutions.
• A greater proportion of cases (86 per cent) were heard in the lower courts after the HSOA came into effect, compared to 70 per cent in the period before its introduction.
•
Are you doing enough to protect employees who drive on business?
• The average fine imposed by the courts involving breaches of health and safety regulations alone increased by 60 per cent, from £4,577 to £7,310.
•
Rise in Corporate Manslaughter prosecutions.
• The average fine increase for cases involving breaches of both health and safety regulations and the Health and Safety at Work Act was 25 per cent, from £13,334 to £16,730. •
Almost 350 lower court cases attracted fines of more than £5,000 prior to the HSOA the lower court maximum fine was capped at £5,000. The previous lower court maximum increased four-fold to a current limit of £20,000.
The HSOA also granted magistrates and sheriffs greater authority to send offenders to prison. Prior to the HSOA, prison sentences were reserved only for specific cases, but now employers can be sent to prison for a majority of workplace health and safety failings. The act’s success over the last five years sends a clear message to employers that neglect necessary, life-saving health and safety regulations in the workplace— focus or suffer the (now much harsher) consequences.
Reminder of April 2014 health and safety poster deadline Are you still displaying an old health and safety poster? Employers that display the 1999 poster or provide the 1999 leaflet have until 5 April 2014 to display or provide the new 2009 poster or leaflet. Northern Ireland employers have until 15 June 2014. Employers have a legal duty under the Health and Safety Information for Employees Regulations to display the approved health and safety poster in a prominent position in each workplace or to provide each worker with a copy of the approved leaflet. You can download the 2009 version of the poster for free at www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/books/ lawposter.htm
Shoes must be sold with a box A Belfast man bought a pair of shoes from a shop and opted to forgo using the shoe box offered by the shop’s assistant. The assistant insisted the man take the shoe box, declaring that health and safety law requires all customers to use a box. The Belfast man was not convinced, and felt that the shop probably wanted to get rid of their boxes to reduce excess waste. Although the HSE’s Myth Busters Panel was unclear about the shop’s motives for forcing a box on the customer, it is certain that there are no health and safety regulations demanding customers use a box for their shoes—this is simply bad customer service masquerading as health and safety concerns.
Refusal to inflate balloon A Cardiff woman purchased a helium balloon in a card shop and asked if she could pay for the shopkeeper to inflate a different balloon she bought online. The shopkeeper refused, citing health and safety rules that prohibited him from filling balloons not purchased in the shop. The HSE panel decided that the ban on filling outside balloons stemmed from purely commercial concerns rather than ‘health and safety rules’.
Firm fined for printing accident A Hengoed-based food packaging company was fined £8,000 and ordered to pay £5,843 in costs after a 55-year-old employee’s left hand was crushed between the rollers of a printing machine. The HSE’s investigation concluded that the printing machine was unguarded, allowing workers to get too close to dangerous moving parts. Worse, the Company had been aware for almost 18 months prior to the incident that a safe isolation procedure was needed for that machine, but neglected to implement one.
Prevent laptop theft Laptops and other small personal electronic devices are desirable items for thieves. They can easily be resold, and thieves can make a quick profit. If your personal laptop is stolen, it may only affect you. But if your stolen laptop contains work information or is owned by the company you work for, your customers, your job and the security of your company could all be affected. Additionally, if your stolen laptop contains personal data of customers or prospects, your company faces fines and prosecution under the Data Protection Act. Use these tips to help prevent you from becoming a victim of laptop theft and to keep your laptop (and all the data it contains) safe. •
Use strong passwords, change passwords frequently and avoid setting up automatic sign-ins. This will make it more difficult for thieves to log on to your computer and access your personal information.
•
Do not write down your passwords. If you must write your passwords down, do not keep the list close to your laptop (for example, on a sticky note kept in your laptop bag).
•
Never leave your laptop in an unlocked car.
•
Never leave your laptop in plain sight in your locked car. Lock it in the boot and make sure no one sees you put it there.
•
Carry your laptop in something other than a laptop bag. This may seem unusual, but using a laptop bag makes it very obvious to thieves that you are carrying a laptop. Use something more inconspicuous, such as a rucksack or messenger bag.
•
Lock up your laptop with a security cable. Attach it to a desk or other heavy stationary object. This visual deterrent will make your laptop less appealing to a thief.
•
Always keep your laptop in your sight. Don’t leave a meeting or a conference room without your laptop—always bring it with you. You never know who could have access to that room, even if you’re only gone for a few minutes.
•
Be especially diligent when travelling—airports are a common place for laptop theft. Also be careful in taxis, hotel rooms, restaurants and coffee shops.
•
Encrypt and back up data and information. The loss of important data and information would probably be more devastating than the physical loss of the laptop. If your laptop is stolen, report it straight away. Tell police the make, model and serial number so a complete report can be filed and the chances of getting your laptop back are greater.
Effective interview techniques As your business grows, so will your workforce. More employees will be needed to match growing demands and responsibilities. But in the fevered rush of business success, some organisations skimp on thorough hiring practices, preferring instead just to hire people to fill seats and quotas. This strategy, while solving a short-term problem, can cost organisations thousands of pounds through what are known as ‘bad hires’. Bad hires are new employees who turn out not to be a good fit for the company or who are found to be inadequately prepared to handle their jobs. And they do more damage than you might think. Twenty-seven per cent of UK businesses that responded to a 2013 Career Builder survey reported that a single bad hire cost them more than £50,000. That is a huge price tag for one mistake. To avoid taking the same misstep, ensure your hiring practices are top-notch. Before any interviews, review candidates’ CVs to understand their employment histories and skill sets. Because candidates should know their CVs inside out, be ready to ask specific questions about their history and aspirations. When meeting candidates, remember that shaking hands is an important first impression. Because candidates are also interviewing you to see whether your company is a good fit for them, you should project confidence. Greet candidates with a firm handshake and direct eye contact. During the interview, ask open-ended questions with opening words like who, what, where, when, why and how. Phrasing questions this way invites candidates to elaborate on their answers rather than supplying short, one-sentence replies. Structure the interview according to what kind of candidate you are looking for—if you are recruiting for a highly skilled position, focus on questions about experience and skill set. For temporary positions, try an informal chat. Always tailor the interview to your business’ needs.
Fine for Aberdeen City Council homeworking arrangements The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) ordered Aberdeen City Council to pay a £100,000 penalty after a data breach resulted in sensitive information being published online. A council employee accessed the information from her home computer, but forgot about her machine’s file transfer program, which automatically uploads all downloaded files to a website. The files, which included details about children’s welfare and alleged criminal offences, were left online for about four months until another council employee spotted the documents through an unrelated online search. The ICO declared the council had no relevant homeworking policy and had insufficient measures to protect the sharing of sensitive information.
Personal data released online leads to monetary penalty A £70,000 penalty has been served to Islington Borough Council after personal and medical details of over 2,000 residents were released online via the What Do They Know (WDTK) website. WDTK enables individuals to request information from public authorities in response to a freedom of information inquiry. The council released three spreadsheets related to an inquiry into its Housing Performance Team to WDTK, failing to notice that the spreadsheets contained details from residents’ housing applications. The ICO’s investigation found that the council was sluggish in responding to the breach and had scant data protection policies in place.
Prosecution for probation officer who released victim information A probation officer was prosecuted and fined £150 after she revealed a domestic abuse victim’s name, address, date of birth and more to the alleged attacker. The officer believed the alleged attacker already knew the information. The distressed victim called the police the day after the information was illegally provided, claiming that the perpetrator unlawfully attained the victim’s new address. The victim subsequently severed all contact with the police, convinced they could not be trusted. The investigation against the alleged perpetrator was then dropped, due to the victim’s lack of cooperation.
Are you doing enough to protect employees who drive on business? Employees who drive on business must navigate through a slew of hazards on congested roadways. They are responsible for driving safely, not endangering other drivers and completing their demanding work duties. But your drivers’ failure to fulfil their responsibilities on the road, like driving safely, can lead to criminal offences for collisions, injuries or deaths they cause. Further, your drivers risk sullying your business’ reputation, triggering an investigation by the Health and Safety Executive and generating a corporate manslaughter charge which can hold your business liable for any fatalities. This applies not just to full-time commercial drivers, but to any employees who happen to be driving for work. Are you doing enough to protect your employees who drive on business? To help protect your employees from serious road traffic offences and to protect your business from liability, make sure your drivers follow the Road Traffic (Northern Ireland) Order 1995 in Northern Ireland and the Road Traffic Act 1998 in England, Wales and Scotland. Establish a driving at work policy that addresses topics like driver and vehicle safety, drink and drugs and mobile phones to show you have properly trained your employees.
Rise in Corporate Manslaughter prosecutions
Prosecutions under the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 (‘the Act’) have been on the rise since 2011. In fact, in 2012 alone, the number of prosecutions spiked by more than 40 per cent. Companies and organisations can be found guilty of corporate manslaughter (or homicide in Scotland) if the way in which their activities are managed or organised: • Results in a person’s death; and • Amounts to a gross breach of a relevant duty owed to the deceased. Penalties can range from unlimited fines to remedial and publicity orders. While the Act only applies to organisations, individuals such as directors and senior managers can still be individually prosecuted under common law for gross negligence manslaughter and a variety of health and safety offences. The following are two recent cases involving corporate manslaughter. MNS Mining Ltd: In September 2011, four miners were killed when a mine they were working in flooded. The mine, located in the Swansea Valley, was owned by MNS and was known to flood frequently. It is alleged that MNS caused the deaths of the four men because there was no safe system of working in place. The manager of the mine and MNS have each been charged with four counts of corporate manslaughter. Both the manager and company have pleaded not guilty, and a provisional trial date has been set for 24 March 2014. Lion Steel Ltd: A maintenance worker died when he fell 13 metres through a fibreglass rooflight to the factory floor while repairing a roof. Lion Steel Ltd was convicted under the Act, fined £480,000 and ordered to pay £84,000 in prosecution costs.
The content of this newsletter is of general interest and is not intended to apply to specific circumstances. It does not purport to be a comprehensive analysis of all matters relevant to its subject matter. The content should not, therefore, be regarded as constituting legal advice and not be relied upon as such. In relation to any particular problem which they may have, readers are advised to seek specific advice. Further, the law may have changed since first publication and the reader is cautioned accordingly. © 2013 Zywave, Inc. All rights reserved.
bluefingroup.co.uk Bluefin Insurance Services Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
March 2014
Think
.
Employers facing harsher health and safety penalties Employers face tougher penalties from health and safety failings than they did five years ago, according to a recent report by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). The report assessed the first five years of the Health and Safety Offences Act (HSOA), which was passed in 2008 to increase the maximum penalties for workplace health and safety breaches that could be heard in both the lower and higher courts. MPs believed that if the penalties for defying health and safety regulations were intensified, offenders would think twice before avoiding their responsibilities as employers.
•
Employers facing harsher health and safety penalties.
•
Recent HSE news and prosecutions.
•
Prevent laptop theft.
•
Effective interview techniques.
Key findings of the report include the following:
•
Recent cyber security news and prosecutions.
• A greater proportion of cases (86 per cent) were heard in the lower courts after the HSOA came into effect, compared to 70 per cent in the period before its introduction.
•
Are you doing enough to protect employees who drive on business?
• The average fine imposed by the courts involving breaches of health and safety regulations alone increased by 60 per cent, from £4,577 to £7,310.
•
Rise in Corporate Manslaughter prosecutions.
• The average fine increase for cases involving breaches of both health and safety regulations and the Health and Safety at Work Act was 25 per cent, from £13,334 to £16,730. •
Almost 350 lower court cases attracted fines of more than £5,000 prior to the HSOA the lower court maximum fine was capped at £5,000. The previous lower court maximum increased four-fold to a current limit of £20,000.
The HSOA also granted magistrates and sheriffs greater authority to send offenders to prison. Prior to the HSOA, prison sentences were reserved only for specific cases, but now employers can be sent to prison for a majority of workplace health and safety failings. The act’s success over the last five years sends a clear message to employers that neglect necessary, life-saving health and safety regulations in the workplace— focus or suffer the (now much harsher) consequences.
Reminder of April 2014 health and safety poster deadline Are you still displaying an old health and safety poster? Employers that display the 1999 poster or provide the 1999 leaflet have until 5 April 2014 to display or provide the new 2009 poster or leaflet. Northern Ireland employers have until 15 June 2014. Employers have a legal duty under the Health and Safety Information for Employees Regulations to display the approved health and safety poster in a prominent position in each workplace or to provide each worker with a copy of the approved leaflet. You can download the 2009 version of the poster for free at www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/books/ lawposter.htm
Shoes must be sold with a box A Belfast man bought a pair of shoes from a shop and opted to forgo using the shoe box offered by the shop’s assistant. The assistant insisted the man take the shoe box, declaring that health and safety law requires all customers to use a box. The Belfast man was not convinced, and felt that the shop probably wanted to get rid of their boxes to reduce excess waste. Although the HSE’s Myth Busters Panel was unclear about the shop’s motives for forcing a box on the customer, it is certain that there are no health and safety regulations demanding customers use a box for their shoes—this is simply bad customer service masquerading as health and safety concerns.
Refusal to inflate balloon A Cardiff woman purchased a helium balloon in a card shop and asked if she could pay for the shopkeeper to inflate a different balloon she bought online. The shopkeeper refused, citing health and safety rules that prohibited him from filling balloons not purchased in the shop. The HSE panel decided that the ban on filling outside balloons stemmed from purely commercial concerns rather than ‘health and safety rules’.
Firm fined for printing accident A Hengoed-based food packaging company was fined £8,000 and ordered to pay £5,843 in costs after a 55-year-old employee’s left hand was crushed between the rollers of a printing machine. The HSE’s investigation concluded that the printing machine was unguarded, allowing workers to get too close to dangerous moving parts. Worse, the Company had been aware for almost 18 months prior to the incident that a safe isolation procedure was needed for that machine, but neglected to implement one.
Prevent laptop theft Laptops and other small personal electronic devices are desirable items for thieves. They can easily be resold, and thieves can make a quick profit. If your personal laptop is stolen, it may only affect you. But if your stolen laptop contains work information or is owned by the company you work for, your customers, your job and the security of your company could all be affected. Additionally, if your stolen laptop contains personal data of customers or prospects, your company faces fines and prosecution under the Data Protection Act. Use these tips to help prevent you from becoming a victim of laptop theft and to keep your laptop (and all the data it contains) safe. •
Use strong passwords, change passwords frequently and avoid setting up automatic sign-ins. This will make it more difficult for thieves to log on to your computer and access your personal information.
•
Do not write down your passwords. If you must write your passwords down, do not keep the list close to your laptop (for example, on a sticky note kept in your laptop bag).
•
Never leave your laptop in an unlocked car.
•
Never leave your laptop in plain sight in your locked car. Lock it in the boot and make sure no one sees you put it there.
•
Carry your laptop in something other than a laptop bag. This may seem unusual, but using a laptop bag makes it very obvious to thieves that you are carrying a laptop. Use something more inconspicuous, such as a rucksack or messenger bag.
•
Lock up your laptop with a security cable. Attach it to a desk or other heavy stationary object. This visual deterrent will make your laptop less appealing to a thief.
•
Always keep your laptop in your sight. Don’t leave a meeting or a conference room without your laptop—always bring it with you. You never know who could have access to that room, even if you’re only gone for a few minutes.
•
Be especially diligent when travelling—airports are a common place for laptop theft. Also be careful in taxis, hotel rooms, restaurants and coffee shops.
•
Encrypt and back up data and information. The loss of important data and information would probably be more devastating than the physical loss of the laptop. If your laptop is stolen, report it straight away. Tell police the make, model and serial number so a complete report can be filed and the chances of getting your laptop back are greater.
Effective interview techniques As your business grows, so will your workforce. More employees will be needed to match growing demands and responsibilities. But in the fevered rush of business success, some organisations skimp on thorough hiring practices, preferring instead just to hire people to fill seats and quotas. This strategy, while solving a short-term problem, can cost organisations thousands of pounds through what are known as ‘bad hires’. Bad hires are new employees who turn out not to be a good fit for the company or who are found to be inadequately prepared to handle their jobs. And they do more damage than you might think. Twenty-seven per cent of UK businesses that responded to a 2013 Career Builder survey reported that a single bad hire cost them more than £50,000. That is a huge price tag for one mistake. To avoid taking the same misstep, ensure your hiring practices are top-notch. Before any interviews, review candidates’ CVs to understand their employment histories and skill sets. Because candidates should know their CVs inside out, be ready to ask specific questions about their history and aspirations. When meeting candidates, remember that shaking hands is an important first impression. Because candidates are also interviewing you to see whether your company is a good fit for them, you should project confidence. Greet candidates with a firm handshake and direct eye contact. During the interview, ask open-ended questions with opening words like who, what, where, when, why and how. Phrasing questions this way invites candidates to elaborate on their answers rather than supplying short, one-sentence replies. Structure the interview according to what kind of candidate you are looking for—if you are recruiting for a highly skilled position, focus on questions about experience and skill set. For temporary positions, try an informal chat. Always tailor the interview to your business’ needs.
Fine for Aberdeen City Council homeworking arrangements The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) ordered Aberdeen City Council to pay a £100,000 penalty after a data breach resulted in sensitive information being published online. A council employee accessed the information from her home computer, but forgot about her machine’s file transfer program, which automatically uploads all downloaded files to a website. The files, which included details about children’s welfare and alleged criminal offences, were left online for about four months until another council employee spotted the documents through an unrelated online search. The ICO declared the council had no relevant homeworking policy and had insufficient measures to protect the sharing of sensitive information.
Personal data released online leads to monetary penalty A £70,000 penalty has been served to Islington Borough Council after personal and medical details of over 2,000 residents were released online via the What Do They Know (WDTK) website. WDTK enables individuals to request information from public authorities in response to a freedom of information inquiry. The council released three spreadsheets related to an inquiry into its Housing Performance Team to WDTK, failing to notice that the spreadsheets contained details from residents’ housing applications. The ICO’s investigation found that the council was sluggish in responding to the breach and had scant data protection policies in place.
Prosecution for probation officer who released victim information A probation officer was prosecuted and fined £150 after she revealed a domestic abuse victim’s name, address, date of birth and more to the alleged attacker. The officer believed the alleged attacker already knew the information. The distressed victim called the police the day after the information was illegally provided, claiming that the perpetrator unlawfully attained the victim’s new address. The victim subsequently severed all contact with the police, convinced they could not be trusted. The investigation against the alleged perpetrator was then dropped, due to the victim’s lack of cooperation.
Are you doing enough to protect employees who drive on business? Employees who drive on business must navigate through a slew of hazards on congested roadways. They are responsible for driving safely, not endangering other drivers and completing their demanding work duties. But your drivers’ failure to fulfil their responsibilities on the road, like driving safely, can lead to criminal offences for collisions, injuries or deaths they cause. Further, your drivers risk sullying your business’ reputation, triggering an investigation by the Health and Safety Executive and generating a corporate manslaughter charge which can hold your business liable for any fatalities. This applies not just to full-time commercial drivers, but to any employees who happen to be driving for work. Are you doing enough to protect your employees who drive on business? To help protect your employees from serious road traffic offences and to protect your business from liability, make sure your drivers follow the Road Traffic (Northern Ireland) Order 1995 in Northern Ireland and the Road Traffic Act 1998 in England, Wales and Scotland. Establish a driving at work policy that addresses topics like driver and vehicle safety, drink and drugs and mobile phones to show you have properly trained your employees.
Rise in Corporate Manslaughter prosecutions
Prosecutions under the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 (‘the Act’) have been on the rise since 2011. In fact, in 2012 alone, the number of prosecutions spiked by more than 40 per cent. Companies and organisations can be found guilty of corporate manslaughter (or homicide in Scotland) if the way in which their activities are managed or organised: • Results in a person’s death; and • Amounts to a gross breach of a relevant duty owed to the deceased. Penalties can range from unlimited fines to remedial and publicity orders. While the Act only applies to organisations, individuals such as directors and senior managers can still be individually prosecuted under common law for gross negligence manslaughter and a variety of health and safety offences. The following are two recent cases involving corporate manslaughter. MNS Mining Ltd: In September 2011, four miners were killed when a mine they were working in flooded. The mine, located in the Swansea Valley, was owned by MNS and was known to flood frequently. It is alleged that MNS caused the deaths of the four men because there was no safe system of working in place. The manager of the mine and MNS have each been charged with four counts of corporate manslaughter. Both the manager and company have pleaded not guilty, and a provisional trial date has been set for 24 March 2014. Lion Steel Ltd: A maintenance worker died when he fell 13 metres through a fibreglass rooflight to the factory floor while repairing a roof. Lion Steel Ltd was convicted under the Act, fined £480,000 and ordered to pay £84,000 in prosecution costs.
The content of this newsletter is of general interest and is not intended to apply to specific circumstances. It does not purport to be a comprehensive analysis of all matters relevant to its subject matter. The content should not, therefore, be regarded as constituting legal advice and not be relied upon as such. In relation to any particular problem which they may have, readers are advised to seek specific advice. Further, the law may have changed since first publication and the reader is cautioned accordingly. © 2013 Zywave, Inc. All rights reserved.
bluefingroup.co.uk Bluefin Insurance Services Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
