Corporate manslaughter rules place organisations 'under pressure'

The new legislation on corporate manslaughter, which comes into effect in April, is something that must be given due consideration at every level of businesses, a legal expert has warned.

An appropriate health and safety culture must be promoted and given due prominence not only on the shop floor, but also at board level – with any police or Health and Safety Executive investigation into alleged corporate manslaughter likely to consider the resources allocated to "safety spend".

Writing in Accountancy Age, David Leckie, a partner in the commercial litigation at Scottish law firm Maclay Murray and Spens, warned: "The fines for companies found guilty of the new offence are unlimited and could be huge."

He added: "The current proposals are for fines in the region of 2.5 per cent to 10 per cent of gross annual turnover, averaged over a three-year period."

Mr Leckie also pointed out that fines of this sort cannot be insured against.

The Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 finally comes into force on April 6, after years of debate on the question of employers' liability for negligence leading to deaths.

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