Workplace Safety and Health Implications of the Upcoming Approved Code of Practice on the Duties of CEOs and Board Directors

The ACOP – a guide for companies to attain the outcome stated in a regulation

The recently introduced Approved Code of Practice (“ACOP”) clarifies what is expected of companies’ Chief Executives (“CEO”) and Board of Directors (“BOD”) in relation to ensuring employees’ workplace safety and health. By way of background, the ACOP provides guidance for companies to attain the outcome stated in a regulation. Under Section 48(1) of the Workplace Safety and Health Act 2006 (“WSH Act”), an officer of the company (including the CEO/BOD) can be held accountable for the WSH Act offence committed by his/her company, unless he/she proves that: (a) the offence was committed without the officer’s consent or connivance; (b) the officer had exercised all due diligence to prevent the commission of the offence. From a mitigation viewpoint, compliance with the ACOP will give the company and/or its CEO/directors a basis to argue (a) and (b) in the context of regulatory prosecution under the WSH Act.

Key pointers about the ACOP

HR and Legal teams should note the following aspects of the upcoming ACOP:

• The ACOP is relevant for all companies’ CEO and BOD, regardless of industry and organisation size. 
• Workers and managers are also encouraged to know and understand what is expected of the Company Directors who lead their organisations.
• The focus is increasingly on the quality of compliance; it is not just about “ticking the requirement boxes”. In determining liability for alleged workplace safety and health lapses, the Court will assess the degree of diligence that the CEO/Directors have exercised, having regard to the nature of their functions and all the circumstances related to the commission of the offence. 
• The ACOP is not merely concerned with physical well-being; it expressly mentions mental well-being as an area to pay attention to under the rubric of workplace safety and health. 

HR teams to play a greater role to ensure compliance with the ACOP

Ensuring compliance with the ACOP is no longer a purely operational issue; we foresee that HR teams will have a greater role to play going forward in the following regard:

• Working with the CEO and BOD to establish a clear and updated Workplace Safety and Health Policy and Standards;
• Ensuring that employees are adequately trained/equipped to avoid/minimise workplace hazards;
• Allocate sufficient manpower and design the right channels for the monitoring, reporting and investigation of such issues;
• Implementing a measurable system of reward to incentivise compliance with safe work procedures; similarly, implementing an appropriate disciplinary policy to deal with non-compliance with safe work procedures;
• Regularly seek feedback from the workforce to continually implement/improve workplace safety and health strategies/programmes.

Connect with us 

The lawyers in our employment practice are experienced in handling workplace safety and health issues from a litigation and regulatory perspective. We can work with you to design and tailor the appropriate HR policies, procedures and platforms to support your organisation in meeting the requirements of the Code of Practice: Chief Executives’ and Board of Directors’ Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) Duties.

This article is produced by our Singapore office, Bird & Bird ATMD LLP. It does not constitute as legal advice and is intended to provide general information only. Information in this article is accurate as of 30 September 2022.