British companies whose negligence leads to the death of individuals
will face prosecution for manslaughter under legislation that now has
royal assent.
The Corporate Manslaughter Act, coming into force on 6 April 2008, for
the first time makes companies, organizations and government bodies
liable to an unlimited fine if found to have caused death through
‘gross corporate health and safety failures’. An organization will be
guilty of an offence if the way in which its activities are managed or
organized causes a death and amounts to a gross breach of a relevant
duty of care owed to the victim.
UK justice minister Maria Eagle said that under existing legislation it
was ‘virtually impossible’ to prosecute large companies for management
failures leading to deaths, and that the new law ‘will ensure justice
for victims of corporate failures’.
Between 1992 and 2005 at least 3452 workers were killed in industrial
accidents in Britain. Charges brought in 34 cases resulted in seven
convictions, involving either small companies or sole traders. Previous
legislation led to few convictions because it required the
identification of ‘a single controlling mind’ within an organization
before a corporate manslaughter prosecution could be brought.
The legislation has been welcomed by the Trades Union Congress, which
said it should herald ‘the start of a change in the safety culture at
the top of the UK’s companies’. However, the Confederation of British
Industry, the largest employers’ group, said the law should be used
cautiously. ‘It will be important it is now enforced proportionately,’
said John Cridland, the CBI’s deputy director-general. ‘This offence
should apply in a very limited number of cases.’ Health and safety
specialists say companies should review their procedures to ensure they
do not commit the new offence, but should not be too concerned about
the Act’s implications.
John Herbert, director of health, safety and environment at the
UK-based consultancy arm of the manufacturers’ organization EEF, said
the law should pose ‘no significant threat’ to businesses with a
‘responsible and proactive’ approach to managing workplace health and
safety. ‘The aim is to facilitate prosecution of those that show a
truly negligent attitude to health and safety, leading to a fatality,’
he said.
Roger Bibbings, occupational safety adviser at the Royal Society for
the Prevention of Accidents, said the Act ‘makes clear that the full
weight of criminal law will be brought to bear on organizations of all
sizes that cause death by behaving recklessly’. But in most cases it
will be used only ‘when standards have fallen far below what might have
been reasonably expected’.
The London law firm Capstick said: ‘There is no reason to be overly
apprehensive about the new legislation. To avoid liability,
organizations need to show they have acted reasonably and responsibly,
which most bodies already do.’ Official guidance for companies will be
issued shortly.
