Making Companies Safe - what works? (CCA ... - Unite the Union

The evidence reviewed in part two shows that formal enforcement strategies work, but that
current levels of inspections, investigations and prosecutions in the UK do not maximise their
potential, and that the HSC should expand this part of its activities.
However that is not the approach that the HSC/E is taking – or indeed the approach the
Government wants them to take. Instead, it appears to be going down a route which will
involve less enforcement by requiring inspectors to provide information in contexts where
there is no threat of inspectors issuing notices or/and pursuing prosecutions.
Since the evidence suggests that formal enforcement is a successful tool to secure employers’
compliance and has a positive impact of health and safety outcomes, this does not seem to
be a rational response to the evidence. However, it is possible that whilst formal enforcement
works, seeking compliance ‘voluntarily’ may be as, or more, effective.
As stated earlier, the HSC has always spent some of its time engaged in strategies to secure
compliance voluntarily, so this part of the report looks at how effective these strategies have
proven to be and whether, despite the evidence that formal enforcement works, the HSC can
still credibly argue that its new approach is evidence-based.
Part Three comprises of three chapters:
• Chapter seven is an assessment of the evidence on the effectiveness of education and
information provision activities. As is explained, the effectiveness of this strategy
depends on there being a positive relationship between employer awareness of what to
do and employers actually doing it.
• Chapter eight is a short chapter that considers the effectiveness of developing strategic
partnerships and relationships with key organisations.
• Chapter nine looks at whether there is evidence that employers find arguments that
their profits and reputation will be harmed unless they comply with health and safety
law persuasive, and if so whether this acts as an incentive for them to improve their
occupational health and safety performance.
• Chapter ten is an assessment of a new proposal that certain employers might be
granted ‘autonomy’ from routine preventative inspections.
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