Corporate Manslaughter

“The Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act came into force on 6 April 2008 and is intended to make it easier to prosecute companies accused of causing death due to negligence.

Under the new offence of corporate manslaughter, employers may face fines of up to 10% of their turnover, or even more in the most serious of cases if it is proved that they failed to take proper health & safety precautions.

The justice minister, Maria Eagle, has commented publicly: "The law ensures improved justice for victims of corporate failures. We are sending out a very powerful deterrent message to those organisations which do not take their health and safety responsibilities seriously.

Measures within the legislation that make it easier to prosecute companies include the fact that proof is no longer needed that a single senior official is to blame, only that the company’s senior management played a role, and also that the Act will make government bodies liable for prosecution by lifting their Crown immunity — a first for corporate prosecutions.

Given these facts, and the weight of the fines which could possibly be imposed, we are urging all companies to review their practices.

Critics of the Act, including the TUC, have been outspoken, saying it does not go far enough.

One area that still needs clarification, is how to proportion the responsibility of blame between middle and senior management.  This also prompts the question : if an event takes place should the managers be separately and independently advised from that given to the company itself since the a conflict might arise.”