Maritime New Zealand v Gibson is the first prosecution of a large corporate CEO as an “officer” under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015. Officer duties also apply to directors and others. Mr Gibson was the former CEO of Ports of Auckland. He was prosecuted for failing to comply with his officer duties. The prosecution arose following a tragic workplace death.
The case is rich pickings for both those who want to understand more about the practical application of officer duties, and those officers who want to know what they should do. It explores ‘work as imagined’ and ‘work as done’ in real circumstances rather than theoretical.