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A
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Bill
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To
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Require
companies to appoint a director as the health and safety director; and
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to impose duties on this director and
on other directors of companies in
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relation to health and safety; and for
connected purposes.
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Be
it enacted by the Queen’s most Excellent Majesty, by and
with the advice and
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consent of the Lords Spiritual and
Temporal, and Commons, in this present
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Parliament assembled, and by the authority
of the same, as follows:—
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1 Health
and Safety Directors
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(1) In
section 282 of the Companies Act 1985 (c. 6) (directors) after subsection
(3)
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insert—
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“(4) Every
company other than a private company shall appoint one of its
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directors
as the health and safety director for the purposes of section
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309A
of this Act.”
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(2) In
section 364 of the Companies Act 1985
(contents of annual return:
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general)
after subsection (1)(d) insert—
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“(da) the
name of the health and safety director of the company.”
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2 Directors’
duties regarding health and safety
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After section 309 of the Companies Act 1985
insert—
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“309A
Directors’
duties regarding health and safety
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(1) It
is the duty of the directors of a company to exercise their powers and
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to
discharge their duties in the interests of the health and safety of its
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employees
and others affected by its operations.
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(2) It
is the duty of the directors of a company to take effective steps to
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ensure
that the company acts in accordance with the obligations
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imposed
on it by any applicable law relating to health and safety.
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(3) The
directors of a company are to be taken to meet the requirements of
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subsection
(2) if they—
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(a) act
reasonably and in good faith;
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(b) inform
themselves about the company's health and safety
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obligations
in the particular circumstances of its operations; and
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(c) consider
any report of a health and safety director appointed
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under
section 282 (4) of the Act.
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309B
Duties
of health and safety directors
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(1) It
shall be the duty of the health and safety director appointed under
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section
282(4) of this Act—
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(a) to
monitor on a regular basis the health and safety performance
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of
the company;
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(b) to
ensure the health and safety statement of the company
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reflects
current board priorities on the matter;
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(c) to
ensure that the company's management systems provide for
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effective
monitoring and reporting of its health and safety
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performance;
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(d) to
report to other directors immediately on any significant
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health
and safety failure in the company and on
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recommendations
for changes; and
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(e) to
report to the board on the health and safety implications of its
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decisions.”
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(2) The
duties of the health and safety director set out in subsection (1)
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shall
not affect in any way—
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(a) the
duties which the board has given to other directors with
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respect
to health and safety matters; and
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(b) the
duties of directors regarding health and safety matters
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imposed
under this Act.”
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3 Commencement
and saving
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(1) This
Act comes into force at the end of the period of six months beginning
with
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the day on which it is passed.
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(2) This
Act does not apply in relation to anything done or omitted to be done
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before it comes into force.
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4 Short
title and extent
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(1) This
Act may be cited as the Company Directors' (Health and Safety) Act 2003.
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(2) This
Act does not extend to companies registered and incorporated in
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Northern Ireland.
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