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Managing risk: directors and leaders’ responsibility in law
This course teaches directors, managers, and leaders about their legal obligations in risk mitigation, including situations where they may be personally liable under criminal law, and provides strategies for managing risks in areas like health & safety, environmental, and civil law.
Online / In Person
1 day
About this course
Every organisation needs to consider risk. It must foresee potential harm or loss and implement safeguards to ensure that risk is minimised or avoided altogether. Corporate responsibility in civil law is well known, and failure to anticipate risk can lead to a costly day out in court, a fact of life for many organisations.
Less thought is given to the criminal consequences of failing to anticipate risk. While there is still yet no offence of corporate manslaughter in Irish law, a failure to safeguard against risk can result in a criminal prosecution by the HSA, EPA or other entity, and not just in cases of death. Penalties for criminal offences can be stiff, with organisations exposed to fines of up to €3m in the case of breach of health and safety law.
What can be even more sobering to leadership is that the long arm of the law can extend to the individual leader as well, holding them personally responsible in criminal law. Irish law has long allowed for the corporate veil to be lifted in certain situations where it feels that there has been a catastrophic failure by an individual in safeguarding against risk. There are numerous situations in which the state can decide to prosecute the individual, usually a leader, as well as the organisation.
Why choose this course
La Touche Training’s Managing Risk: directors and leaders’ responsibility in law course examines the legal obligations of directors, managers and leaders of organisations in mitigating risk. You will learn of those situations in which the corporate veil can be lifted, exposing the individual to the full rigours of the criminal law. You will learn of your principal legal responsibilities under health & safety, environmental and civil law. You will also be introduced to measures which can mitigate risk, such as ensuring incidents are properly investigated and responded to, and lessons learned.
Course syllabus
Key learning points:
- Overview of Irish civil law principles such as vicarious liability, corporate veil.
- Introduction to law of negligence.
- Overview of health & safety legislative framework.
- Offences & penalties under Health, Safety and Welfare at Work Act 2005.
- Reporting obligations to HSA.
- Responding to an HSA investigation, powers of the HSA officer.
- Overview of environmental law framework, key offences.
- Analysis of personal responsibility of directors, managers and others in control under Irish law, principally H&S and environmental law.
- Understanding “foreseeability” in Irish law.
- Responding to incidents: building an effective investigating and reporting culture.
- Importance of learning from mistakes to identify and implement change.
- Bias in decision making.
- Introduction to root cause analysis and risk management.
Who should attend
> Managing directors, chief executive officers
> Company directors (Legal and non-legal)
> Business owners
> Health & safety officers
> Anyone in charge of a team or workplace
> Those interested in risk management generally
Meet the team – Our expert trainers
La Touche Training Legal Experts
We work with a wide panel of specialist trainers, all chosen based on their experience and knowledge, experience both in practice and as trained trainers. The majority of our trainers are experienced...
Read BioPractical training with small groups to ensure quality.
Our training sessions are not lectures—they're practical, interactive experiences. The small group format allows every attendee to ask questions, take part in discussions involving practical exercises and role-plays.
This method of training allows attendees to put the skills learned into practice immediately. Course participants benefit from the focused attention and guidance of an independent expert.
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FAQs
This course examines the legal responsibilities of directors, managers and organisational leaders when identifying, managing and mitigating risk. It covers key areas including negligence, health and safety law, environmental law, corporate liability, personal liability of leaders, incident response and risk management strategies. Participants also learn how failures in risk management can lead to regulatory investigations and legal consequences.
Directors and senior leaders are expected to take reasonable steps to identify foreseeable risks, implement appropriate safeguards and ensure compliance with relevant legal obligations. These duties can arise under health and safety legislation, environmental law and general principles of negligence. Failure to manage risk appropriately may expose both organisations and individuals to liability.
Yes. In certain circumstances, Irish law allows personal responsibility to extend beyond the organisation itself. Directors, managers and others in positions of control may face personal liability where there has been a significant failure to fulfil legal obligations, particularly in health and safety or environmental matters. The course explores when this can occur and how risks can be reduced.
The corporate veil is the legal principle that separates a company’s liabilities from those of its directors and officers. However, Irish law recognises situations where this protection may not apply. The course examines circumstances in which individuals may be personally accountable for organisational wrongdoing or failures in risk management.
Health and safety legislation places significant responsibilities on organisations and those who direct or control workplace activities. Directors and managers may have duties relating to risk assessment, reporting obligations, compliance measures and cooperation with regulatory investigations. Breaches can result in substantial penalties and enforcement action.
An HSA investigation may involve inspections, information requests, interviews and examination of organisational records. Investigators have statutory powers to gather evidence and assess compliance with health and safety obligations. Understanding how to respond appropriately can help organisations manage legal and regulatory risks effectively.
Foreseeability is a key legal concept used to determine whether harm could reasonably have been anticipated. Courts often assess whether an organisation or individual should have identified a particular risk and taken steps to prevent it. Understanding foreseeability helps leaders make informed decisions about risk controls and compliance measures.
The course is suitable for company directors, managing directors, chief executives, business owners, health and safety professionals, in-house counsel, compliance professionals, risk managers and anyone responsible for organisational decision-making. It is also relevant for solicitors advising clients on governance, compliance, health and safety, environmental law or corporate risk issues.
