In The Dock: Corporate Manslaughter Reforms
Death by corporate manslaughter enters a new chapter after 6 April. The Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2006 will make it easier for all companies to be held responsible for serious failures in the management of health and safety resulting in death.
A company will be guilty of the new offence if someone is killed as a result of the gross failure of a company’s senior managers. Senior managers, are defined as persons playing a significant role in the decision making process in the way the company’s activities are managed or organised.
Examples of corporate manslaughter could include the death of an employee by a piece of machinery when the business had adopted unsafe working practices, or by an unroadworthy company vehicle when the employer has failed to regularly service and maintain it.
The new law should overcome the problems of convicting companies of corporate manslaughter. It will be useful to secure corporate convictions in instances of large scale accidents such as rail crashes.
Under the existing law a single individual, identifiable as the “directing mind” of a company, has to be personally guilty of gross negligence or manslaughter before an organisation is guilty of corporate manslaughter. Historically the track record for successful prosecutions of this offence is poor, particularly in the case of larger organisations. However, once the new Act is implemented courts can consider the wider corporate picture, looking collectively at the actions and the failings of the company’s senior management.
This new offence also extends to partnerships, police forces and some government departments. However, it will not apply to individuals who are already held to account through existing health and safety legislation and the offence of gross negligence manslaughter.
The penalties available to a court for a business convicted of the new offence are potentially quite steep. There are unlimited fines, orders to remedy management failures and the risk of damaging their corporate reputation, as the court can impose publicity orders where details of the conviction are made public.
The new legislation makes it easier to convict culpable organisations, and is intended to improve safety standards for both employees and the general public. However critics argue that it adds little to the existing health and safety regulation already in place and instead contributes to over-regulation in this area.
Although the corporate manslaughter legislation is likely to cause additional worry for businesses already struggling with health and safety compliance, those businesses already complying should have nothing to fear.
However the new legislation emphasises the importance of businesses ensuring that health and safety procedures are up to date, reviewed on a regular basis and strictly enforced. Businesses should seek professional legal advice and ensure their senior managers are adequately trained and aware of their health and safety responsibilities. Insurance policies should also be checked for inclusion of charges for corporate manslaughter.
For furthur information or advice, contact Helen Wallwork
Published 21/02/2008. The author of this article is Helen Wallwork
