The main parts of the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 are due to come into force on 6 April 2008.
The Act establishes a new offence where there has been a gross failure in the way a company has organised or managed its health and safety activities which results in someone’s death. The new offence will be called corporate manslaughter in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and corporate homicide in Scotland.
Employers should take the opportunity to consider how they manage all workplace risks to ensure that they are not vulnerable to criminal charges under the Act.
The Government has published useful short introduction to the new Act .
Organisations found guilty of the new offence will be liable to a fine, a remedial order and a publicity order. It is thought that publicity orders will be made as a matter of course.
