legal updates
Thursday, 01 Jun 2006
corporate homicide and corporate manslaughter
It is likely that offences of corporate homicide and corporate manslaughter will be introduced in Scotland and England respectively at some point this year. These offences will apply to companies and other incorporated bodies, as well as certain government departments.
Offence
Organisations will be guilty of an offence if activities managed or organised by its senior managers (1) cause a person’s death; and (2) amount to a gross breach of a relevant duty of care owed by the organisation to the deceased.
- A “senior manager” for the purposes of the legislation is likely to be one who plays a significant role in the actual management of the whole or a substantial part of the company’s activities.
- In deciding whether the duty of care has been breached, failure to comply with health and safety legislation may be taken into account.
Penalties
The penalty for an organisation is an unlimited fine and, in addition, the court may order the organisation to take remedial action. Individual directors may also have to pay fines. As well as these financial penalties, which could potentially cripple a business, a prosecution for corporate manslaughter, whether successful or not, could severely damage an organisation’s reputation.
Action
It is prudent for all incorporated bodies to review, document and implement health and safety policies, arrangements and systems before the offences are introduced. If that is done, should the unthinkable occur, the organisation in question will be better placed to demonstrate that the duty of care incumbent on them has been complied with.