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🛡 The Shield Audit – Protecting Business Leaders from Personal Prosecution

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In today's regulatory environment, it is no longer enough to simply "have a health and safety policy." Business leaders — directors, senior managers, and anyone with control of work — face real and increasing risk of personal prosecution when things go wrong.

Recent HSE enforcement trends show a clear move towards holding individuals to account under:

• Section 37 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (for directors and senior managers)

• Section 7 (for operational managers and supervisors)

• Corporate Manslaughter and Gross Negligence Manslaughter

• Other relevant regulations, such as CDM 2015​

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What is the Shield Audit?

The Shield Audit is a specialist service offered by Armadillo Safety Solutions, designed specifically to protect individuals from prosecution, by focusing not just on general health and safety compliance — but on the personal and organisational factors that influence the decision to prosecute.

We conduct an in-depth review of: ✅ Decision-making structures
✅ Document drafting — ensuring policies, risk assessments, and procedures clearly show leadership commitment without assigning impractical personal liability
✅ Management accountability — demonstrating that staff, supervisors, and managers are all held responsible at the correct level
✅ Systems for monitoring and enforcement — proving that you actively check compliance
✅ Key indicators — ensuring there is evidence to support that prosecution is not in the public interest

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Why is this important?

When the HSE or police are deciding whether to prosecute, they look at:

• Did you put suitable systems in place?

• Can you show you took all reasonably practicable steps?

• Were responsibilities clearly shared, and enforced across the business?

• Were decisions documented and defensible?

The Shield Audit focuses on building a legal shield for the business and the individuals within it, by ensuring you:

• Avoid inadvertent personal liability through poorly written documents

• Can demonstrate you took reasonable and proportionate action

• Have credible arrangements to show you were not negligent

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How does it work?

✔ Full review of your current health and safety documentation
✔ One-to-one interviews with business leaders and key managers
✔ Review of accountability structures
✔ Advice and redrafting of documents, risk assessments, procedures, and management processes
✔ Delivery of a Shield Report with tailored recommendations
✔ Ongoing support to implement changes

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The Outcome

Following the audit, you will have:

• A structure that demonstrates leadership, without exposing individuals unnecessarily

• Clear evidence that health and safety is taken seriously at all levels

• Documented proof that enforcement action or prosecution would be unreasonable

• Practical advice on how to maintain this protection going forward