IOSH – New global health and safety standard

IOSH – New global health and safety standard

 

ISO 45001, the long-awaited new international standard for occupational safety and health, is set to be published in March 2018


It will be the first global standard of its kind, says the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO), giving organisations ‘a universally accepted framework for improving employee health and safety, reducing workplace risks and creating healthier, safer working conditions’.

The standard follows the generic management system structure used for ISO 14001 and ISO 9001

It was based initially on OHSAS 18001, but also takes account of other influential documents, such as the International Labour Organisation’s ILO-OSH Guidelines and various national occupational safety and health management system standards.

Steep increase in high fines for organisations and custodial sentences for individuals

The 2016/17 data on prosecutions released by the UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE) shows a large annual increase in fines. In 2015/16, the total fines for health and safety offences was £38.8 million. This rose to £69.9 million in 2016/17. The average fine per case in 2016/17 was approximately £126,000, which is more than double the average fine in 2015/16. Notably, the ten highest fines in 2017 ranged between £1.35m and £3m.


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