Does accountable safety leadership mean pleading guilty when a tragedy occurs? – Katherine Morris

Katherine Morris, Partner, Norton Rose Fulbright

Katherine spoke about how business leaders view accountability following a serious workplace incident, and how to deal with these issues.

After the introduction of industrial manslaughter laws, there is considerably higher legal risk exposure for custodial sentences and penalties in the millions of dollars.

It’s a significant opportunity and challenge for OHS leaders, who should comprehensively address this new context, not minimize it or shy away from it.

This means strongly focusing on safety culture and measuring and documenting this, a sharp focus on eliminating fatal risks, evidencing satisfaction of due diligence duties and strong legal risk management.