It's been talked about long enough but now it's law. From April 2008 there is a new offence of Corporate Manslaughter. In a nutshell an organisation is guilty of the new offence if the way it organises or manages its activities causes a person's death and this amounts to a gross breach of the duty of care it owes to the deceased. As well as responsibilities as an employer (in particular health and safety), it covers responsibilities arising as a supplier of goods and services, the occupier of land, the construction or maintenance of infrastructure or buildings and anything else arising in the provision of other commercial activities.
In particular it reinforces the expectation that organisations will act with proper regard for health and safety legislation. This means undertaking proper risk assessments and implementing effective actions to minimise risks. Employers will be expected to show that they have done what they said they will do and not to be doing anything that "falls far below what can reasonably be expected of the organisation in the circumstances".
An important related development is that the scale of fines for breaches of current health and safety legislation are expected to increase significantly later this year.
For copies of our earlier articles or for more advice and guidance on this important new legislation and developments in health and safety penalties please contact
Information and Consultation Legislation Extended
The roll out of the Information and Consultation Regulations, which started over 3 years ago, is complete. It's rules now apply to employers of more than 50 staff. And they do have teeth. MacMillan Publishers Ltd has just been fined over £50,000 for failing to properly respond to a staff request to set up a Works Council. For copies of our earlier articles or for more information contact Stuart on 01404 42359 or email stuart@hradvantage.co.uk
