The new Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Bill: How it affects you
2nd April 2008
The new Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act comes into force on 6 April. The Act creates a new offence to be called corporate manslaughter in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and corporate homicide in Scotland. The Act creates a new offence making it easier for companies to be prosecuted for corporate manslaughter (or corporate homicide in Scotland) and removes the requirement for a ‘controlling mind or will’ of the company. What does this mean for your organisation? That it will no longer be necessary to prove that a specific individual was responsible for the offence in order for corporate manslaughter to be proven.
The new Act states that an organisation will be guilty of an offence if the way in which its activities are managed or organised a) causes a person’s death and b) amounts to a gross breach of a relevant duty of care. The Act will apply to a wide range of organisations across the private and public sectors and aims to redress the law in favour of victims. Now is the time to enhance successful safety management systems to protect your staff, customers and the public. It is imperative that directors and managers, HR and health & safety specialists, contractors and subcontractors and trade union officers all understand the implications of this new legislation.
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Did you know?JSB offers training on the implications of this new legislation and provides practical guidance on reviewing the safety of your systems. See details here.