What do I need to know about the Corporate Manslaughter Act 2007?

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The Corporate Manslaughter Act which came into effect in April of 2008 is an indication of how seriously the law will attempt to get directors to seriously think about best practice health and safety.  We can help.  0844 8700 629.

The good news is that no new health and safety obligations are imposed on companies reference their duty of care.  The sobering news is that the evidential requirements for pinning blame on individuals is much reduced and directors can much more easily be seen as culpable if a worker dies in the course of their employment, when the death could have been prevented (see below).

If a company is already complying with its responsibilities under the Health and Safety at Work Act:

The HSE states that under UK law, employers have a 'duty of care' to protect the health, safety and welfare of all employees while at work.

then they will be complying with the new act.  However:

  • It is no longer necessary to identify a company's 'directing mind'
  • The breach of duty does not have to be the only or even major, cause of the death
  • Directors and senior managers can be prosecuted as individuals
  • If found gultiy of gross negligence manslaughter thewy can be jailed for up to three years

The following are just a couple of failures which would make a specific organisation vulnerable:

  1. The poor training of front-line workers, particualrly those in safety-critical positions
  2. Procedures not followed by front-line workers and junior management.

Contact us on local call number 0844 8700 629 to see how we can help you provide the right environment - this could include adequate training, process improvement and technological support - all of which we can help with. You can the rest assured that you have done what you need to as far as your duty of care is concerned.