John Johnston

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Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act
2007

• John Johnston
• www.healthandsafetytips.co.uk

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Health and Safety Law

• Health and safety law states that organisations
  must
• provide a written health and safety policy (if
  they employ five or more people)
• assess risks to employees, customers, partners
  and any other people who could be affected by
  their activities
• arrange for the effective planning, organisation,
  control, monitoring and review of preventive and
  protective measures
• ensure they have access to competent health and
  safety advice
• consult employees about their risks at work and
  current preventive and protective measures.

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Health and Safety Law

• Individual prosecutions currently in force under
  The Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 (HSWA)
• S.37 HSWA for Directors/Managers, S.7 HSWA for
  Employees.
• Possible prison sentence for individuals on some
  HS offences.
• Health and Safety (Offences) Act 2008 - in force
  Jan 2009
• Current maxima
• 5k or 20k for summary offence in lower courts,
  depending on offence unlimited fine for
  indictable offence
• imprisonment not available for most offences (but
  up to 6 months in magistrates court / 2 years in
  Crown Court for few offences e.g, failing to
  comply with a prohibition notice or breaching a
  licensing requirement).
• New maxima
• 20k fines in lower courts for nearly all summary
  offences, unlimited fines in higher courts.
• Imprisonment for nearly all offences up to 12
  months in Magistrates Courts and 2 years in the
  Crown Court.

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Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide
Act 2007

• Introduces new manslaughter offence for
  organisations.
• In force since 6 April 2008.
• The offence
• Section 1(1) an organisation to which this
  section applies is guilty of an offence if the
  way in which its activities are managed or
  organised
• (a) causes a persons death, and
• (b) amounts to a gross breach of a relevant duty
  of care owed by the organisation to the deceased.

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What are the Penalties?

• Unlimited fine
• Publicity order
• Remedial order
• Fines are expected to be
• 5 to 10 of turnover (Transco 15m less than 1
  of turnover).
• 2.5 of turnover for offences that come under the
  HSWA.
• Possible equity fines.
• Individual prosecutions will still remain under
  the HSWA
• S.37 HSWA for Directors/Managers, S.7 HSWA for
  Employees.
• Possible prison sentence for individuals.

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Case Study 1 - Reliance Scrap Metal Merchants

• A Dorset scrap-metal company was fined and its
  director imprisoned following the death of an
  employee after a gas cylinder exploded the
  circumstances of which the director tried to
  cover up.
• The scrap-metal company was found guilty of
  various breaches of the HSWA and was fined
  60,000.
• Director, David Matthews changed his plea in the
  witness box from not guilty to guilty in relation
  to breaching two counts of
• S.37 of HSWA, with respect to the failure to
  discharge a duty of the HSWA.
• Matthews was fined 1,000 and sent to prison for
  three years for perverting the course of justice
  by trying to cover up the circumstances of the
  incident.
• Costs will be determined at a hearing on 20
  October 2008 at Winchester Crown Court, in which
  the fine awarded against the company may be
  reduced.

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Case Study 2 Tebay Rail Incident

• On Sunday 15 February 2004 a runaway engineering
  trailer struck a group of railway workers on the
  West Coast Main Line at Tebay in Cumbria. Four
  men were killed and three others were injured.
• On 17 March 2006 Mr Roy Kennett was found guilty
  of four counts of manslaughter and a charge under
  section 7 of the HSWA.
• Mr Mark Connelly was found guilty of four counts
  of manslaughter and three HSWA charges.
• Mr Kennett received a two-year custodial
  sentence, and Mr Connelly received a nine-year
  custodial sentence.

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Options for HSfB?
INDG417
OR
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HSfB GUILTY
HSfB GUILTY
HSfB GUILTY