Health and safety is everyone's responsibility — but what does that actually mean? Who is legally accountable when things go wrong? Understanding the hierarchy of responsibilities, from the boardroom to the shop floor, is essential for effective health and safety management.
Do you have clearly defined health and safety responsibilities in your organization?
Let's check if everyone knows their role.
The legal framework
Health and safety law creates a hierarchy of duties that cascade from those with most control (employers, directors) to those carrying out the work (employees).
The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974
The HSWA 1974 establishes the foundation of responsibilities in UK workplaces:
Section 2 — Employers' duties to employees:
"It shall be the duty of every employer to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of all his employees."
This is the fundamental duty. Employers must provide:
- Safe plant and systems of work
- Safe arrangements for use, handling, storage, and transport of articles and substances
- Information, instruction, training, and supervision
- Safe place of work with safe access and egress
- Safe working environment with adequate welfare facilities
Section 3 — Employers' duties to non-employees:
Employers must conduct their undertaking to ensure, so far as reasonably practicable, that persons not in their employment are not exposed to risks to their health or safety.
This covers visitors, contractors, customers, neighbors, and the general public.
Section 7 — Employees' duties:
Every employee must:
- Take reasonable care for their own health and safety and that of others who may be affected by their acts or omissions
- Cooperate with their employer in health and safety matters
- Not intentionally or recklessly interfere with or misuse anything provided for health, safety, or welfare
The employer has the primary legal duty, but employees also have responsibilities. Health and safety is a partnership — employers must provide safe systems, employees must follow them.
Section 37 — Personal liability of directors and senior managers:
Where an offense is committed by a company with the consent, connivance, or neglect of a director, manager, secretary, or similar officer, that individual can be prosecuted personally, in addition to the company.
This means directors cannot hide behind corporate liability. If they knew about risks and did nothing, or should have known and failed to find out, they can face personal prosecution.
Employer responsibilities
The employer (the organization or business entity) has the overarching legal duty for health and safety. This cannot be delegated away, though specific tasks can be assigned to others.
What employers must provide
Under Section 2 of HSWA 1974 and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, employers must:
1. Safe systems of work
- Assess risks (Regulation 3 MHSWR)
- Implement control measures based on those assessments
- Develop safe operating procedures
- Provide method statements for high-risk activities
2. Safe equipment and workplace
- Ensure plant and machinery is safe and properly maintained
- Provide adequate welfare facilities (toilets, washing, rest areas)
- Ensure the workplace is safe (floors, stairs, lighting, temperature)
- Maintain equipment and buildings in good condition
3. Safe substances
- Assess risks from hazardous substances (COSHH)
- Provide safe storage, handling, and disposal procedures
- Supply appropriate PPE and controls
4. Information, instruction, training, and supervision
- Provide induction training for new employees
- Ensure ongoing training appropriate to roles and risks
- Give clear instructions on safe working
- Supervise, especially inexperienced workers
5. Competent health and safety support
- Appoint one or more competent persons to assist with health and safety (Regulation 7 MHSWR)
- Provide them with adequate time and resources
6. Consultation with employees
- Consult employees on health and safety matters
- Establish consultation mechanisms (safety representatives, committees, or direct consultation)
7. Written health and safety policy (if 5 or more employees)
- Prepare a written policy covering policy, organization, and arrangements
- Bring it to employees' attention
- Review and update as necessary
Employer Duties: Legal vs Practical
Legal Duties (What the law requires)
- •Ensure health, safety, and welfare
- •Assess risks and implement controls
- •Provide safe equipment and workplace
- •Give information, instruction, training
- •Appoint competent persons
- •Consult employees
- •Maintain records and documentation
Practical Implementation (How to comply)
- •Develop and enforce safe systems of work
- •Conduct regular risk assessments and reviews
- •Maintain equipment, inspect workplaces
- •Run induction and refresher training programs
- •Allocate time and budget for health and safety
- •Hold regular safety meetings and feedback sessions
- •Keep accessible records of assessments, training, incidents
Bottom line: Legal duties define what you must achieve. Practical implementation is how you get there. Both are necessary — the law sets the standard, your systems deliver it.
What "so far as is reasonably practicable" means
This phrase appears throughout health and safety law and is crucial to understanding the extent of duties.
Reasonably practicable means:
Balancing the level of risk against the cost (in time, money, and effort) of controlling it. If the risk is high and the controls are affordable and practical, you must implement them. If the risk is trivial and the controls would be disproportionately expensive, you may not need to.
The test:
You must implement a control measure unless you can demonstrate that the cost (broadly interpreted, not just financial) is grossly disproportionate to the risk.
- High risk, low cost to control → you must act
- Low risk, very high cost to control → you may not need to
- But the burden of proof is on the duty holder to show something is not reasonably practicable
"We can't afford it" is rarely an acceptable defense. If a risk is serious, the fact that controls are expensive doesn't excuse failure. Courts take the view that if you can afford to run the business, you can afford to make it safe. Reasonably practicable doesn't mean 'if convenient.'
Director and senior manager responsibilities
Directors and senior managers have both corporate and personal responsibilities.
Corporate responsibility
As representatives of the company, directors oversee:
- Strategic leadership on health and safety
- Resource allocation (budget, time, people)
- Policy approval and commitment
- Performance monitoring and oversight
- Accountability for failures
Personal liability under Section 37 HSWA
Directors, managers, company secretaries, and similar officers can be prosecuted personally if an offense is committed:
With their consent: They actively agreed to or authorized the breach
With their connivance: They knew about the breach and turned a blind eye
Due to their neglect: They failed to take reasonable steps to find out about or prevent the breach
What this means in practice:
- Directors can't claim ignorance — they're expected to ensure adequate systems exist
- They must ask questions and seek assurance about health and safety management
- They should review reports, challenge poor performance, and allocate resources
- Failure to act on known risks or red flags can result in personal prosecution
Director prosecuted personally following fatal incident
A manufacturing company director was aware of repeated concerns about inadequate machine guarding raised by the health and safety consultant. He attended board meetings where these issues were discussed. Despite the warnings, he failed to allocate budget to address the problems, citing cost pressures. A worker suffered a fatal injury when caught in unguarded machinery.
- ✗Director aware of specific risks from consultant reports
- ✗Failed to allocate budget to implement recommended controls
- ✗Attended meetings where risks were discussed but took no action
- ✗Prioritized production and cost savings over safety
- ✗No evidence of challenging or seeking alternative solutions
- ✗Worker died as a result of the identified, uncontrolled risk
Both the company and the director were prosecuted. The company was fined £750,000. The director was personally prosecuted under Section 37 HSWA for neglect. He was fined £75,000 and given a suspended prison sentence. The court noted that his failure to act despite knowing the risks was 'a serious neglect of his duty as a director.'
Directors cannot claim they're too busy with commercial matters to address health and safety. If you're aware of risks and fail to act, you can be held personally liable. Section 37 prosecutions are increasing — regulators and courts expect active director engagement in health and safety, not passive delegation.
What directors should do
To demonstrate appropriate oversight and avoid personal liability:
1. Understand the risks
- Request regular health and safety reports at board level
- Ask questions about significant risks and how they're controlled
- Visit sites and talk to employees about safety
2. Allocate adequate resources
- Ensure sufficient budget for controls, training, equipment
- Provide time for health and safety activities
- Support competent persons with authority and access
3. Monitor performance
- Review incident and near-miss data
- Track compliance with legal requirements
- Challenge poor performance and demand improvement
4. Set the tone
- Demonstrate personal commitment to health and safety
- Sign the health and safety policy
- Ensure health and safety is a standing board agenda item
5. Respond to warnings
- Take action when risks or non-compliance are identified
- Don't ignore consultant reports, inspector feedback, or employee concerns
- Document decisions and rationale
Director involvement in health and safety should be active, not passive. Receiving reports and filing them is not enough. Ask questions, challenge assumptions, ensure actions are followed through. Section 37 prosecutions target those who knew but did nothing.
Manager and supervisor responsibilities
Managers and supervisors sit between strategic oversight (directors) and operational delivery (employees). They have critical responsibilities in implementing and monitoring health and safety.
Day-to-day management duties
Managers and supervisors typically:
Plan and organize work safely
- Ensure risk assessments exist for their area
- Develop or implement safe systems of work
- Organize work to minimize risks (e.g., rotation, breaks, staffing levels)
Monitor and enforce compliance
- Conduct workplace inspections
- Observe whether employees follow procedures
- Challenge unsafe behavior
- Report hazards and defects
Train and supervise
- Ensure new employees receive induction and training
- Provide on-the-job supervision, especially for inexperienced workers
- Check understanding and competence
- Refresh training as needed
Communicate and consult
- Brief teams on risks and controls
- Listen to employee concerns and suggestions
- Report incidents, near-misses, and problems upward
Investigate and learn
- Investigate incidents in their area
- Identify root causes and implement corrective actions
- Share lessons learned
Manager Responsibilities vs Employee Responsibilities
Managers/Supervisors
- •Plan and organize safe work systems
- •Monitor compliance and enforce rules
- •Provide training and supervision
- •Conduct inspections and identify hazards
- •Investigate incidents and near misses
- •Report upward and communicate downward
- •Accountable for safety in their area
Employees
- •Follow instructions and safe systems
- •Use equipment and PPE correctly
- •Report hazards and defects
- •Cooperate with health and safety measures
- •Take reasonable care for self and others
- •Don't misuse or interfere with safety equipment
- •Accountable for own actions and omissions
Bottom line: Managers create the framework and monitor compliance. Employees operate within that framework and take personal responsibility for their actions. Both are essential — neither can deliver health and safety alone.
When managers can be held personally liable
While Section 37 typically focuses on directors, managers with significant autonomy and decision-making authority can also be prosecuted personally if:
- They have genuine control over health and safety matters in their area
- An offense is committed with their consent, connivance, or neglect
- Their role and authority make them akin to a senior officer
Examples:
- A site manager who ignores repeated safety concerns
- A factory manager who instructs employees to bypass safety systems to meet production targets
- A regional manager who fails to allocate resources for known risks
Middle managers can find themselves in a difficult position — pressured by senior management for performance while responsible for safety. If you're a manager concerned that you're being expected to compromise safety, document your concerns, escalate them formally, and consider seeking independent advice. You can be personally liable if you consent to or turn a blind eye to unsafe practices.
Employee responsibilities
Employees are not passive recipients of health and safety protection — they have legal duties too.
Legal duties under Section 7 HSWA
Employees must:
1. Take reasonable care for their own health and safety
- Follow instructions and training
- Use equipment properly
- Wear PPE when required
- Don't take unnecessary risks
2. Take reasonable care for others affected by their actions
- Don't endanger colleagues, visitors, or the public
- Be aware of how your actions affect others
- Speak up if you see unsafe behavior
3. Cooperate with the employer on health and safety matters
- Attend training
- Follow procedures
- Participate in consultations
- Support safety initiatives
4. Not intentionally or recklessly interfere with or misuse safety equipment
- Don't disable guards or safety devices
- Don't misuse PPE or other safety equipment
- Don't tamper with fire extinguishers, alarms, or other safety systems
What "reasonable care" means for employees
Employees are expected to:
- Act as a reasonable person would in the circumstances
- Follow the training and instructions they've been given
- Use common sense about obvious risks
- Speak up if they're unsure or concerned
Employees are not expected to:
- Be health and safety experts
- Identify risks that require specialist knowledge
- Work in situations where they haven't been trained or supervised
- Take risks just because they're told to by management
An employee who follows proper training and instructions, but is injured due to inadequate systems or equipment, is not at fault. Conversely, an employee who deliberately ignores safety rules and injures themselves or others can be held accountable — and even prosecuted under Section 7.
Can employees be prosecuted?
Yes. Section 7 prosecutions are less common than employer prosecutions, but they happen, particularly when:
- An employee deliberately disregards safety rules
- Their actions endanger others
- They interfere with safety equipment
- The breach is reckless or willful
Example scenarios:
- Employee removes machine guard to speed up work, causing injury to colleague
- Driver ignores speed limits and driving hours, causing serious accident
- Worker disables safety interlock, leading to dangerous exposure
Defenses:
An employee may have a defense if:
- They weren't adequately trained or supervised
- The employer's systems were inadequate or confusing
- They were pressured by management to work unsafely
- They took reasonable care in the circumstances
Employee prosecuted for reckless disregard of safety
An experienced forklift driver repeatedly removed the seatbelt on his truck despite warnings and retraining. He claimed it was 'uncomfortable' and 'slowed him down.' During a sharp turn, he fell from the truck and was seriously injured.
- ✗Employee had been trained on seatbelt use and its importance
- ✗Had received verbal and written warnings about non-compliance
- ✗Deliberately removed or didn't fasten seatbelt repeatedly
- ✗No claim of inadequate training or equipment defect
- ✗His actions directly caused his own serious injury
- ✗Employer had adequate systems, employee chose not to follow them
The employer was initially investigated but not prosecuted — they had proper systems, training, and had repeatedly tried to enforce compliance. The employee was prosecuted under Section 7 for failing to take reasonable care for his own safety. He was fined £2,500. The court noted that employees cannot disregard clear safety requirements and then blame the employer when things go wrong.
While employer prosecutions are more common, employees can be held accountable for deliberate and reckless disregard of safety. If you've been properly trained and refuse to follow safety measures, you may be personally liable for the consequences.
Defining responsibilities in your organization
Legal duties are clear at a high level, but effective health and safety requires specific allocation of tasks and accountability.
Health and safety policy — organization section
Your health and safety policy (Part 2) should clearly define who is responsible for what. Avoid vague statements like "everyone is responsible" — be specific.
Example structure:
Overall responsibility:
- Managing Director: Overall policy, resource allocation, board-level accountability
Day-to-day management:
- Operations Manager: Implementation of policy, coordination of risk assessments, liaison with competent person
Line managers:
- Ensure risk assessments for their areas
- Monitor compliance with procedures
- Provide induction and training
- Conduct workplace inspections
- Investigate incidents
Competent person (external consultant):
- Provide expert advice and guidance
- Conduct annual audits and reviews
- Advise on complex or specialist risks
- Keep management informed of regulatory changes
All employees:
- Follow instructions and training
- Use equipment and PPE correctly
- Report hazards and defects
- Cooperate with health and safety arrangements
Specific vs general responsibilities
Good (specific): "The Facilities Manager is responsible for ensuring all fire extinguishers are serviced annually, maintaining records, and reporting any defects to the Operations Manager within 24 hours."
Poor (vague): "Managers are responsible for fire safety."
Specificity ensures accountability. If something isn't done, it's clear who should have done it.
Accountability in practice
Defining responsibilities is not enough — you need mechanisms to ensure accountability.
Performance monitoring
Health and safety responsibilities should be:
1. Included in job descriptions
- Make health and safety duties explicit for every role
- Include in recruitment processes and inductions
2. Part of performance management
- Set health and safety objectives for managers
- Review performance against those objectives
- Include in appraisals and development discussions
3. Monitored and measured
- Track completion of inspections, training, actions
- Review incident data by area or manager
- Use audits to assess compliance
4. Reinforced with consequences
- Recognize good health and safety performance
- Address poor performance through capability procedures
- Discipline serious breaches (including dismissal for gross negligence)
Link health and safety performance to incentives and recognition. If managers are rewarded purely for production or cost control, health and safety becomes a lower priority. Make it clear that safety performance is as important as financial or operational performance.
Reporting and escalation
Clear lines of accountability require reporting mechanisms:
- Regular reports from managers to directors on performance, incidents, risks
- Escalation paths for serious concerns or non-compliance
- Whistleblowing procedures for employees who fear retaliation
- Board-level review of health and safety at every meeting (not just when something goes wrong)
Culture and leadership
Accountability is most effective when supported by culture:
- Leaders visibly prioritize health and safety (site visits, safety discussions, personal compliance)
- "Speak up" culture where concerns are welcomed, not punished
- Near-miss reporting and learning, not blame
- Recognition and celebration of good safety performance
- Open discussion of incidents and lessons learned
A culture of blame discourages reporting and learning. A culture of accountability encourages people to take responsibility, report concerns, and learn from mistakes without fear of unfair punishment. The difference is critical.
Responsibilities for specific groups
Self-employed persons
The self-employed have duties under Section 3(2) HSWA to:
- Conduct their work so as not to expose themselves or others to risks
- Comply with specific regulations relevant to their work (e.g., working at height, electrical safety)
If self-employed persons work on others' premises, they must:
- Cooperate with the site owner or principal contractor
- Follow site rules and procedures
- Not introduce risks to others
Partnerships
In a partnership, each partner can be held liable for health and safety breaches. Partners should:
- Collectively agree health and safety policy and arrangements
- Allocate responsibilities among partners
- Ensure adequate resources and oversight
- Understand that they cannot escape liability by delegating to one partner
Trustees and charity governance
Trustees of charities and voluntary organizations have similar responsibilities to company directors:
- Oversight of health and safety strategy and policy
- Ensuring adequate resources
- Monitoring performance and compliance
- Personal liability under Section 37 if they consent, connive, or neglect their duties
Landlords and property owners
Landlords and building owners have duties under:
- Section 4 HSWA — to ensure the premises are safe for those working there
- Defective Premises Act 1972 — duty to maintain premises in safe condition
- Fire Safety Order 2005 — fire safety in communal areas and shared buildings
Responsibilities include:
- Maintaining structure, utilities, and communal areas
- Ensuring gas and electrical safety
- Providing fire risk assessments for communal areas
- Sharing information with tenants about building risks (e.g., asbestos)
Frequently asked questions
No. While employers can (and should) delegate specific tasks and day-to-day management to competent persons, the ultimate legal responsibility remains with the employer. You can delegate authority, but not liability. If something goes wrong, the employer is accountable even if they delegated the task.
No. Appointing a health and safety manager or consultant helps you meet your duties, but directors retain oversight responsibility. They must ensure adequate resources, monitor performance, and respond to risks. Section 37 liability remains — directors can't claim 'we hired someone to deal with that' if they fail to oversee properly.
Employers should use progressive discipline: verbal warning, written warning, final warning, and ultimately dismissal for persistent or serious breaches. Refusal to follow safety rules, especially if it endangers others, can be gross misconduct. Document the process carefully, ensure the employee understands the rules and why they matter, and consider whether inadequate training or other factors contributed.
Generally no. If an employee follows management instructions and is injured because the system of work was unsafe, the employer is liable, not the employee. Employees are entitled to rely on their employer providing safe systems. However, if an employee should have recognized an obvious danger and had the option to refuse or raise concerns, the situation may be more complex.
Yes, under Section 37. Directors can be prosecuted if the offense occurred through their neglect — i.e., they failed to take reasonable steps to ensure adequate systems were in place. You don't have to be directly involved; failing to oversee, allocate resources, or respond to known risks is enough for Section 37 liability.
Non-executive directors have the same corporate governance responsibilities as executive directors, including oversight of health and safety. They should: ask challenging questions about health and safety performance, ensure it's a board priority, monitor that adequate systems exist, and hold executives to account. Section 37 can apply to non-executives if they neglect their oversight duties.
Yes, if they employ staff or control premises where people work. The legal framework applies regardless of whether the organization is commercial, charitable, or voluntary. Trustees have similar responsibilities to company directors. However, purely volunteer-run organizations with no employees may have reduced duties.
You have duties to contractors working on your premises under Section 3 and Section 4 HSWA. You must share information about site-specific hazards, coordinate activities, and ensure your operations don't endanger them. Contractors have their own duties for their work, but you can't completely outsource responsibility if they're on your site or working for you.
Document your concerns formally (in writing, with dates and details). Escalate through the reporting structure. If serious risks are being ignored, consider: raising it with the board, using whistleblowing procedures, seeking advice from a professional body, or in extreme cases, reporting to HSE. You may still have personal liability under Section 37 if you have authority and do nothing, so keep records of your efforts to raise the issue.
Not usually. 'Reasonably practicable' balances risk against effort, but if the risk is significant, cost alone is rarely an acceptable reason not to act. Courts take the view that if you can afford to operate the business, you can afford to make it safe. Only if the cost is grossly disproportionate to a very minor risk might you argue a measure is not reasonably practicable.
Next steps
To clarify and strengthen health and safety responsibilities in your organization:
- Review your health and safety policy — ensure the 'Organization' section clearly defines who does what
- Discuss at board/senior level — ensure directors understand their legal duties and oversight role
- Define manager responsibilities — make specific health and safety duties explicit for each management role
- Communicate to all employees — ensure everyone knows their responsibilities under Section 7
- Include in job descriptions — make health and safety part of every role from recruitment onward
- Build accountability mechanisms — monitor, measure, and review health and safety performance
- Create reporting and escalation routes — so concerns reach the right level
- Foster a positive culture — where accountability is constructive, not punitive
Unclear about health and safety responsibilities in your organization? A qualified health and safety consultant can review your structure, clarify roles, and ensure everyone from the boardroom to the shop floor understands their duties and accountabilities.
Related articles:
- What is a Competent Person?
- Comprehensive Risk Assessment Guide
- Small Business Health and Safety Guide
Useful tools: