Employee injuries will hurt bosses too

A new UK law could see construction managers jailed from January if one of their employees is hurt at work warns UK health and safety training company, Pivotal Performance.

The company, which trains many construction managers, is warning businesses to act now to ensure there are no health and safety risks facing their employees.

From 16 January 2009 the new Health and Safety Offences Act 2008 makes employers personally accountable for the safety of their employees. Breaches could see company directors and managers jailed or facing Magistrates Court fines of up to £20,000.

Jane Gillham, a director of Pivotal Performance, said, "This law changes everything. While an accident involving an employee can already be a disastrous event, the punishment of the leaders of the business under this new law could see the business being forced to shut down.

"It means that employers must carefully manage the risk from everything their employees do, including things such as driving on company business. If an employee had an accident because they had been working long hours, their manager could be blamed as well.

"There is an opportunity now for all construction businesses to check they are properly up-to-date, have adequate staff trained and are leaving nothing to chance when it comes to health and safety at work."

Pivotal Performance has offices in Northamptonshire and Scotland and uses a training method called PPTplus, which teaches delegates how to win commitment from others, not just compliance.