Most businesses should be aware by now of the
new offence created by the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate
Homicide Act 2007, which came into force on 6th April 2008. However,
it seems that not all businesses are taking note of the new legislation.
The new legislation makes no change to the health and safety
requirements of employers that are already in place, nor does
it add new ones. It does, however, mean that organisations
can be prosecuted if a death has occurred as a result of a gross
breach of a duty of care owed to the deceased.
The government assured companies that they had nothing to fear
from the Act, provided they already had stringent health and
safety and management procedures in place. It was hoped
that businesses would see the creation of the new offence as
an opportunity to review and tighten current systems.
The Act looks to prosecute the worst cases of corporate failure
to manage health and safety properly. It is important for
business owners to ensure they are providing an adequate relevant
duty of care to their employees, and to members of the public.
Although the Act pertains to the prosecution of organisations
rather than individuals, directors will not be able to prevent
the company from being prosecuted by delegating health and safety
management responsibility.
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