Corporate Manslaughter

The interesting thing about the information below is that death when an employee is out of the office on company business, may fall within this legislation. To help protect and watch over employees outside of the office, systems are available such as ID card holders that incorporate tracking and man down facilities.

NEW research by the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health CIEH highlights that businesses understanding of the implications of a prosecution under the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act is worryingly low.

The survey of 500 business decision-makers revealed that 57% of businesses were unaware that they could be subject to a publicity order if found guilty of a fatal accident at work.

The possibility of such an order is one of the three punishments that could be given to guilt companies under the Act. Firms are also likely to be punished with a heavy fine of up to 10% of turnover and an order to put in place measures to ensure that there is no repeat of the incident that resulted in the death.

A publicity order means the court can order that the particulars of the offence, conviction, any fine and the terms of any remedial order be published by the defendant within a specified period. Breach of a publicity order will in itself be an offence, punishable by an unlimited fine.

Sectors that were most aware of the changes were travel and transport (53%), retail, catering and leisure (47%) and small and medium-sized enterprises (42%) but those least knowledgeable were manufacturing, engineering, utilities and healthcare (35%).

When asked about the implications of breaching the Act, 59% of businesses regarded a publicity order as the greater threat. This is echoed within most individual industries, except for manufacturing, engineering and utilities.

In launching the findings of the research CIEH chief executive Graham Jukes, said: 'This poll research highlights the lack of awareness in most businesses of the effect that an accident at work may have on a firm's ability to trade in the future.

'Business leaders must act proportionately but if they fail to properly resource health and safety and something goes wrong then it will not just be the victim that suffers but the business as a whole through the link to the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act.' (Workplace Law Network: June 25).