Although welcoming the Government’s legislative proposals for corporate manslaughter, the Electrical Contractors’ Association (ECA)
has drawn attention to matters that need urgent Government
attention.
The new legislation aims to achieve justice in the case of gross management failings where there has been a fatality at work. It seeks to replace the existing common law offence of ‘manslaughter by gross negligence’. Under the new law, a company could be guilty of
corporate manslaughter if ‘the way in which its senior managers managed or organised its activities caused a person’s death’
“We welcome the draft Bill’s application to organisations and
not to individuals”, said David Pollock, ECA Director. “There is
already legislation to prosecute an individual should the need
arise. The proposed corporate manslaughter Bill looks like a
significant improvement on
current law. Companies should
make a real effort to follow
health and safety legislation.”
One of the biggest problems
with the proposal is that it has
no scope beyond the UK.
“Unfortunately, the Bill does not
deal with the international
nature of employment. This is a
growing issue in the problem
for service industries, with the
many foreign-based contractors
now working in the UK.
“In addition to developing
this Bill, the Government needs
to start the ball rolling in the
European Union to ensure that
foreign-based companies can
also be properly held to
account.”
Pollock added: “The
proposed offence of corporate
manslaughter should be related
to a major or continual failure to
assess and control risks rather
than a temporary gap in the
management system. It needs
to apply clearly to organisations
with ‘atypical’ employment
arrangements, such as
employment and labour
agencies, and holding
companies who may not
employ anyone but still
command the resources and
arrangements in subsidiary
companies”.
According to ECA health and
safety advisor Paul Reeve: “This
legislation needs to be very
clear about the level of
responsibility a company has to
take for the acts or omissions of
contractors, sub-contractors,
agency workers, or other
organisations that employ
workers”.
“We agree that the police
should investigate and the
Crown Prosecution Service
should consider whether to
prosecute”, said Reeve.
“However, any prosecution
should be supported by close
co-operation with the Health
and Safety Executive. Sharing
technical information and
evidence following an incident
would help to quickly establish
if there has been a gross failure
to comply with safety law.”
