Patrick S Cahill Solicitors

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Section 80 of the Safety Health and Welfare Act 2005 provides that directors and managers of "undertakings" (including local authorities and non government organisations) could face imprisonment of up to two years and or fines up to €3,000,000 if convicted of an offence which has been authorised / consented to or is the result of neglect on the part of the directors and/or senior managers.

The responsibilities of Directors and Managers are outlined in the HSA's Guidelines for Directors and Senior Managers. The Guidelines explain:

a) the role which a board of directors should play in a company's Health and Safety strategies.

b) the responsibilities of directors to ensure that competent persons are appointed to health and safety functions; and

c) guidelines for creating a safety culture within the work environment.

HSA Inspectors regularly question Senior Management in Health and Safety inspections. To avoid the risk of Section 80 prosecution, employers should ensure that they are familiar with and actively seek to comply with the Guidelines for Directors and Senior Managers as well as the guidance notes in the various areas of work covered in the General Application Regulations 2005 Act.

The above HSA publications are available to download on the HSA website: www.hsa.ie