Corporate manslaughter law comes into force

Companies that ignore new corporate manslaughter laws could be ‘courting disaster’, according to security specialist red24.

As well as dealing with the devastating impact of the death of an employee, businesses could find themselves hit with a fine of 2.5 to ten per cent of their annual turnover if they are found to have grossly neglected their “duty of care”.

David Hill, senior security consultant at red24, explains: ‘When it comes to health and safety, it’s not enough any more for CEOs to say, “I leave all that to my HR director or general manager.” The whole company needs to have a culture of good health and safety management.’

Hill adds that if an employee dies, businesses can expect a thorough investigation into the health and safety culture in their organisation. If that is found wanting, the chances of successful prosecution will be higher.

The legislation, which came into force last month, applies not just to health and safety in the workplace, but also to business travel. That means employers will be liable whether staff are travelling by company car, their own vehicles, or by public transport.