RSPP and HSE Manager: managing risk by clarifying roles

In the workplace health and safety system there is sometimes confusion between the roles of RSPP e HSE manager.
An overlap that is only apparent, but which in reality involves profoundly different roles, responsibilities, and functions, with organizational and legal consequences that are far from marginal.

The distinction is neither terminological nor academic: it is structural.
And it directly affects an organization's ability to manage risk, not simply to comply with regulatory obligations.

The role of the RSPP in the regulatory framework

The RSPP (Head of the Prevention and Protection Service) is a figure expressly provided for by the Legislative Decree 81/08, appointed by the Employer, with technical support tasks for risk assessment and the identification of prevention and protection measures.

The Consolidated Law is clear in defining its scope:
to the RSPP no decision-making, organizational or spending powers are attributed, nor obligations of operational supervision over work activities.

His role is technical-consultative, placed in the risk analysis, evaluation and reporting phase.
It does not govern the organization of work, does not give operational orders, and does not replace the Employer.

It is also known that Legislative Decree 81/08 does not provide for direct sanctions against the RSPP.
This element, often cited in a simplified way, has contributed over time to generating widespread and dangerous misunderstandings.

The responsibility of the RSPP according to jurisprudence

The Supreme Court has clarified on several occasions that the absence of "typical" sanctions in the Consolidated Law does not equate to an absence of responsibility.

The RSPP can be held criminally liable due to professional negligence, when the harmful event is causally linked to:

• technical errors in risk assessment;
• incorrect or misleading indications;
• failure to identify or report knowable and foreseeable risks.

In these cases, the liability is configured in competition with other subjects holding a position of guarantee, according to the general rules of the criminal code.

The same jurisprudence, however, establishes the opposite limit with equal clarity:
the RSPP is not responsible for the organization of the work, does not exercise managerial powers, and has no obligations to control the execution of activities.
His appointment does not constitute a delegation of functions and does not transfer the Employer's guarantee position.

The role of the HSE Manager

The HSE manager (Health, Safety & Environment Manager) is a figure organizational, introduced by choice of the company.

It operates on a managerial and strategic level, managing the coordination of processes, management systems, environmental activities, information flows, and performance indicators.

It is not a legally required figure.
Relevant for the purposes of Legislative Decree 81/08 only when the same person, in possession of the required requisites, is also formally appointed RSPP.
In the absence of such an appointment, the role remains exclusively organizational.

Confusing or overlapping RSPP and HSE Manager, without formally clarifying perimeters, powers and responsibilities, means introducing structural ambiguities in the prevention system.

When RSPP and HSE Manager coincide in the same person

In business practice, especially in medium-large companies, it frequently happens that RSPP and HSE Manager coincide in the same person.

This configuration is legitimate, but it represents one of the system's greatest weaknesses if not managed methodically.

When the two roles coincide, It is essential to distinguish which function is being exercised at each moment, so as not to come into conflict with oneself.:

• including RSPP, the subject maintains a technical-consultative role, without decision-making and supervisory powers;
• including HSE manager, instead operates on a management level, within the limits of the organizational powers actually attributed by the company.

The coincidence of roles does not automatically transform the RSPP into a person holding a guarantee position, nor does it in itself increase his criminal liability.
Risk arises when the boundaries between technical and management functions become blurred in daily practice.

In the absence of:

• clear attribution of decision-making powers;
• consistency between formal roles and organizational behaviors;
• traceability of technical reports and decisions taken;

the same person may find himself "governing" processes without having the necessary levers, exposing himself to distorted ex post evaluations of their role.

The organizational knot

The most significant critical issues emerge when the RSPP is actually given the following responsibilities: management or performance expectations, without coherent tools, powers and delegations.

This creates an organizational short circuit:
the figure is called to answer for the results of the prevention system while formally remaining without the levers to govern them.

It is in these contexts that, in the event of an accident, the system enters into crisis and responsibilities are reconstructed retrospectively, often in a conflictual manner.

A question of system governance, not of compliance

Clarifying roles is neither a formal exercise nor a category protection.
It's a question of risk governance.

An effective health, safety and environmental system requires:

• clearly defined roles;
• adequate skills;
• powers consistent with responsibilities;
• traceability of decisions and reports;
• integration between technical, legal and organizational approaches.

Reducing security to an organizational obligation or label increases the risk, does not reduce it.

Conclusion

RSPP and HSE Manager are not alternative or overlapping roles by custom.
They are different tools, which respond to different logics and which must be correctly placed within the company organization.

Clarity in roles is not a detail:
It is an essential condition for the protection of individuals, for the legal stability of the company and for truly effective prevention management.