1.3 Who Does What in Organisations

Roles of directors, managers and supervisors

Health and safety is not only the job of people with a safety title. Everyone is responsible. The employer is ultimately accountable, but if an employee causes an incident, that employee can be held accountable for their own action.

Responsibility and accountability are closely linked, yet they are not the same thing.

• Responsibility is having a duty to deal with something, or having control over someone.
• Accountability is accepting responsibility and being answerable for what you do. An accountable person owns their actions fully and must be able to give a satisfactory reason for them.

Every health and safety activity rests on a named individual's responsibility. Always check local legislation for specific responsibilities and accountabilities. The lists below are examples of how duties might be shared. They will differ with the size of the organisation, the law that applies and the management structure.

Directors

• give direction on effective OHS and build a safety culture
• encourage buy-in at every level and define the top-level roles and responsibilities
• make sure resources exist to develop, run and maintain the OHS management system
• appoint a member of senior management with specific responsibility for health and safety
• review health and safety performance regularly and supply direction and resources where change is needed

Managers

• take part in building and implementing the safety management system
• develop effective safety policies, programmes and procedures
• join the risk assessments for their own areas and activities
• sit on the investigation team when something happens in their area
• provide physical resources and psychosocial support
• support safety education and training, and the safety committee
• recognise good safety behaviour and hold safety meetings

Supervisors

• make sure workers have safe materials, tools, equipment and machinery
• record and analyse information on injury, illness, damage and lost production
• follow company safety rules and enforce them where needed
• carry out safety inspections, risk assessments and audits
• take part in workplace discussions on injury, health and welfare
• train workers in safe working procedures
• make sure corrective action is taken whenever a deficiency is found

How top management shows commitment

Top management can show commitment to OHS by:

• providing the resources to design, implement and maintain the OHS management system
• defining roles and responsibilities, and running a documented programme that assigns safety accountabilities at every level
• appointing senior managers with specific responsibility for health and safety
• appointing competent people, internal and external including specialists, to help the organisation meet its obligations
• reviewing health and safety performance
• setting an example, by following every safety policy and procedure themselves and expecting the same of staff

Summary notes for Element 1 · Cheat sheet · Glossary. A study aid, not published or endorsed by NEBOSH.