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Corporate Manslaughter Act
Published April 2008
Most businesses should be aware by now of the new offence created by the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007, which came into force on 6th April 2008. However, it seems that not all businesses are taking note of the new legislation.
The new legislation makes no change to the health and safety requirements of employers that are already in place, nor does it add new ones. It does, however, mean that organisations can be prosecuted if a death has occurred as a result of a gross breach of a duty of care owed to the deceased.
The government assured companies that they had nothing to fear from the Act, provided they already had stringent health and safety and management procedures in place. It was hoped that businesses would see the creation of the new offence as an opportunity to review and tighten current systems.
The Act looks to prosecute the worst cases of corporate failure to manage health and safety properly. It is important for business owners to ensure they are providing an adequate relevant duty of care to their employees, and to members of the public.
Although the Act pertains to the prosecution of organisations rather than individuals, directors will not be able to prevent the company from being prosecuted by delegating health and safety management responsibility.
