Higher Fines - The Next Level

Unsurprisingly, as society becomes increasingly insistent on employers genuinely providing safer workplaces, fines for breaching safety legislation continue to increase. In the last month there have been two landmark decisions:

1. Queensland Rail has been fined $650,000 for a double fatality in 2007
2. BP has been fined $87M (yes: $87,000,000.00 US$) for its failings that contributed to the deaths of 15 people at a Texas oil refinery in 2005

New Legislation - The Next 50 Years

In 2 years time (1 January 2012) it is proposed that all Australian businesses will be regulated under common safety legislation. This, for many of us, will be a once in a lifetime event. It is still too early for us to provide meaningful commentary on how this will specifically effect our clients and subscribers, however, we are already investing considerable time examining the implications.

For the time being, employers should continue to "pedal hard" on the "basics" that have not changed for the last 100 years:

• Simplify and integrate safe work procedures
• Provide interesting training that can generate change
• Fortify and make transparent corrective action processes
• Audit less - and fix what you already know is broken
• Introduce lead indicators that educate and incentivise
• Consult like you mean it - tap into employees' expertise

2010 Public Mock Court Calendar

Our 2010 Mock Court calendar has been published with dates fixed for Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide. Prices remain unchanged (as they have for the past 2 years) at $250 p.p.

Any subscriber to book themselves or work colleagues prior to Christmas can do so for just $150 p.p. To take advantage of this inBRIEF offer, reply email to me and I will organise the booking.

Click thru to the Calendar

Statutory Liability Insurance - Alternate Risk Mitigation

A "small" company and its 3 directors were recently fined a total of $200K arising from a NSW prosecution in the Industrial Relations Commission. During sentencing the defendants raised the apparent inequity of WorkCover targetting directors of smaller companies as opposed to larger ones. Whilst dismissing this part of their submission as not relevant, the presiding Judge did establish that all the individual directors prosecuted by WorkCover over the last three years were indeed from small companies. The Judge then remarked, "There might be quite a reasonable explanation as to why prosecutions in this jurisdiction are weighted so heavily against directors of small companies, but it is not immediately apparent to the Court."

If you are a director or person concerned in the management of a small to medium sized enterprise it may be worth exploring the merits of Statutory Liability Insurance. For more information please contact me at first instance and I will organise for more information applicable to your circumstances.