Company Bosses Can Face Corporate Homicide, Manslaughter Charges
Not surprisingly, big business was never happy at the idea that a company and even worse individuals within that company could be held liable for deaths in the workplace in the form of manslaughter charges.
However, after years of wrangling and word changing the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act became law in April. The new laws make it impossible for company’s who fail to follow correct Health and Safety guidelines to escape blame.
The main concern of businessmen is that with these new laws not only can a company face Manslaughter and even Homicide charges, so can responsible individuals within those organizations.
The old concept that the company is a separate entity from the individuals who run it no longer applies. As far as the new laws are concerned company and individuals both take responsibility for avoidable deaths.
Over 300 employees a year die in the UK workplace, but up until now manslaughter charges were the extreme exception and often ended in failure as “the company” was not a group of individuals, it was an entity without any responsible individuals, that is no longer the case.
The real point of the legislation is not to bring company bosses to the High Court; the real intention is to make company’s realize that they can not avoid responsibility for deaths. The real intention is to make companies understand and fully follow the Health and safety legislation.
Full details of how to properly train and avoid these serious charges can be found at Workplace Law. Check out their well respected NEBOSH course from Workplace Law today.
