Consequences of Corporate Manslaughter Act

Saturday, 31. October 2009

There have been mixed feelings expressed over the Corporate Manslaughter Act that was introduced in April 2008. Basically, if you are an employer and you have failed your duty of care that results in the death of your employee or others you, or the director/partner in your business responsible, could face prosecution and a prison sentence as well as an unlimited fine on the company. Some have stated that the Act is virtually unenforceable whilst others have said that employers should take it seriously and be very worried about the consequences. One of the problems is timescales. The first and only case brought under the act involved the death of a geologist who was crushed to death. This case has taken months to get to court and is set for February 2010. So whilst there is a low level of public interest in the act and breaches thereof public opinion could suddenly swing violently if a young family are killed as a result of breaches under the Corporate Manslaughter Act by an employer. If you had a case against you waiting to be heard at the time of the prosecution, that had captured the attention of the press, what may have been a relatively low key hearing will suddenly hit the headlines whilst the public bay for blood! The Transport Research Laboratory highlighted what could happen in a hypothetical case, even when the employer has felt that he has done everything he should do. In the example a salesman falls asleep at the wheel causing him to hit a van sending it off the road and killing the driver. Whilst the company seemed to have done all that they should do by giving health and safety instructions to the driver they imposed an unrealistic number of appointments on him causing him to work long hours with no instructions on managing his driving time to include adequate breaks. The driver was sent to prison for causing death by dangerous driving. No jail sentence was handed out to any officer of the company, as most commentators seem to suggest will be the case, but the company received a fine, at the level of which the Ministry of Justice is likely to recommend when setting guidelines next year, of 10% of annual turnover. That is of course massive and could send a company under so I wouldn’t ignore your duty of care if you are an employer, you could end up losing your business whilst contributing to someone losing their life. By Graham Hill