25.07.2006

New Corporate Manslaughter Bill

The UK's new Corporate Manslaughter Bill was published last week and makes some significant changes to that first envisaged.

Initial thoughts were that individual Directors should be held personally liable for actions within the company which lead to a fatality. However, the government has rejected the premise that Directors should be directly and personally criminally liable if a death has occurred under corporate auspices.

UK Trade and Industry Secretary, Alistair Darling, felt that any attempt to single out senior figures in a company would be unworkable and get bogged down in the courts.

The published bill is still subject to criticism from several quarters, in particular the Trades Unions. Under the new bill, which will become law early next year, companies will be liable for deaths due to a gross breach of the duty of care by the firm. The new offence of manslaughter will apply to corporations and public bodies. And companies will be liable for unlimited fines if a death follows a serious failing by managers.

Directors and senior management, and in fact any employee, can still be held liable for gross negligence manslaughter if he or she was personally responsible for the fatality. This has not changed and is already covered by existing legislation.

The Bill makes reference to "construction and maintenance pperations" and includes: construction, installation, alteration, extension, improvement, repair, maintenance, decoration, cleaning, demolition or dismantling of any building or structure.

The Bill also focuses on activities surrounding work connected with land, or any plant, vehicle and any other thing.
Only the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) may instigate proceedings of corporate manslaughter against an organisation.

If a case is brought against a company, then a jury will decide whether the organisation owed a relevant duty of care to the individual, and whether there was a gross breach of that duty. The jury would examine the organisation's failure to comply with health and safety legislation relating to the alleged breach, the seriousness of the failure, and the likelihood of death it posed. The jury would also consider existing health and safety practices and polices within the sector the organisation worked in, e.g. Best Practice Guides.

The Bill gives the courts the power to issue remedial orders against the organisation. The remedial orders will specify the timeframe by which the organisation must implement the remedial work. This can be extended. If an organisation fails to heed the remedial order, it will be subject to a fine.

C&A will post an update when the legislation is finalised in the new year.

Anyone wishing to obtain a copy of the Bill, can then go to: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/documents/corp-mans-homicide-bill.pdf