The devastating consequences of a malfunctioning safety gate became tragically clear in July 2022, when a worker was crushed between two one-tonne metal frames, an incident that has since prompted a thorough re-examination of corporate safety culture. Tarmac Building Products was subsequently fined over £633,000 by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) for what was deemed a “serious and entirely avoidable incident.” The investigation revealed a disturbing pattern of neglect, where the company had failed to act on several previous near misses involving the same machinery. For the injured employee, a father of three, the event led to a two-week hospital stay, extensive physiotherapy, and an inability to work for more than a year. This case serves as a stark reminder that safety failures are rarely isolated events; they are often the final, catastrophic result of systemic cultural deficiencies. For human resources professionals, the incident is more than a cautionary tale—it is a critical call to action, demanding a shift from passive policy administration to active leadership in fostering a workplace where safety is an unshakeable core value.
From Reactive Policies to a Proactive Culture
A common pitfall in corporate safety is the illusion of security provided by comprehensive policy manuals that gather dust on a shelf, a reality the Tarmac case brought into sharp focus. The mere existence of written procedures is insufficient if they are not deeply embedded in the daily operations and mindset of every employee. Experts argue that HR’s role is to champion a fundamental cultural shift where safety is not an afterthought or an inconvenience but an integral part of every task. The most critical lesson from the investigation was the company’s failure to address near misses, which safety professionals describe as “screaming warnings” of an impending disaster. Instead of being dismissed, these events must be systematically reported, investigated, and used as learning opportunities to prevent recurrence. To achieve this, HR must cultivate a no-blame environment that empowers employees to speak up about hazards without fear of reprisal. This psychological safety is the bedrock upon which a truly proactive safety culture is built, transforming the organization from one that reacts to accidents to one that actively prevents them.
To ensure safety transcends rhetoric and becomes a tangible priority, it must be woven into the very fabric of human resources management, influencing everything from hiring to performance evaluation. This strategic integration begins with clearly defining safety responsibilities within job descriptions for all roles, from the factory floor to the executive suite. More importantly, managers must be held accountable for the safety performance of their teams, with safety metrics given the same weight as productivity and financial targets. When safety records become a key component of performance reviews, promotion considerations, and even compensation, it sends an unequivocal message that the organization’s commitment is genuine. By linking safety directly to professional advancement and reward, HR can effectively operationalize its importance, ensuring that it is a shared responsibility driven by every leader within the organization. This approach moves safety from a peripheral compliance issue to a core business imperative, fundamentally altering how it is perceived and practiced.
The Strategic Partnership of HR and Safety Management
While human resources professionals are not expected to become certified safety engineers, their expertise in managing an organization’s human capital places them in a unique position to drive a successful safety program. The most effective approach involves a strategic collaboration with dedicated health and safety management, where HR focuses on its core strengths. This includes the meticulous management of training and development programs, ensuring that every employee receives the necessary safety instruction for their specific role. HR systems are perfectly suited to track training completion, manage certification expirations, and identify skill gaps that could create vulnerabilities. This systematic oversight prevents critical safety knowledge from being siloed or becoming outdated, transforming it from information that “lives in a binder on someone’s desk” into a dynamic and continuously reinforced competency. By ensuring that safety training is not a one-time event but a recurring process, refreshed at least annually, HR helps keep safety awareness high and skills sharp across the entire workforce.
The Tarmac incident ultimately underscored the profound legal and ethical duties that employers hold to protect their workforce from harm, a responsibility in which HR plays a central custodial role. The case was a powerful illustration of the consequences of failing to provide adequate information, training, supervision, and access to competent safety support. HR departments are pivotal in guaranteeing that comprehensive risk assessments are not only conducted but are also translated into practical, safe systems of work that are accessible and consistently followed. This duty of care was especially critical for ensuring that all employees, particularly new hires or those undertaking high-risk tasks, were properly equipped to perform their jobs without undue risk. The significant financial penalty levied against the company was a testament to the severity of the failure, but the lasting lesson was in the human cost. The event proved that proactive and strategic HR involvement in safety was not merely a matter of compliance but a fundamental obligation that could have prevented a life-altering injury and a profound corporate crisis.
