The issue
The client is an international leisure company, with high profile brands in businesses which included restaurants, hotels, casinos, bingo halls and film processing. The company has interests in several countries, with a key focus in the UK and US. This company had identified health and safety management as a key business risk. There was a lack of clarity regarding the extent to which effective processes and controls had been developed to appropriately manage health and safety risks, which could affect the reputation of the company, lead to accidents to guests and employees, significant sickness/absence periods and financial loss.
Our approach
PwC conducted a full review of the arrangements for managing health and safety risks both at corporate and business level. The review considered the organisational structure, policies and procedures developed and implemented throughout the group. We interviewed group level staff responsible for health and safety to identify corporate processes for management and reporting health and safety issues and information.
Based on the discussions, we identified a sample of businesses in the UK and US for detailed review. Local PwC teams assessed health and safety management systems to identify key risk exposures, areas for improvement and examples of good practice.
The findings from the review were fed back at business and corporate level.
The outcome
The output from the work included practical recommendations for how health and safety management could be improved to confirm compliance with legislation and deliver business value through the reduction of accidents, compensation claims and sickness/absence. The findings and recommendations were received very well and the main client contact requested that we deliver a presentation to the members of the Board to highlight the potential risks and their responsibilities in addressing health and safety management.
