CORPORATE MANSLAUGHTER: The ‘Kill Bill’ goes live, but are you prepared?
4 April, 2008
The long-awaited Corporate Manslaughter Act comes into force this month and, as Tom Webster reports, you should be taking action to protect your company
The Corporate Manslaughter Act has been a long time in preparation.
Instigated as a result of a Law Commission report in 1996 that proposed a new crime of corporate killing, and coming into force on 6 April 2008, the act has drawn comment from all over the industry, with insurance broker firm Marsh calling it, “one of the most far-reaching pieces of legislation in recent history”.
However, a spokesman for the Royal Society of the Prevention of Accidents played down industry fears of a spate of prosecutions, stating that “organisations that take health and safety seriously have nothing to fear”.
The spokesman continued: “We expect the number of prosecutions to be small, but we feel that the publicity order will have the largest effect.
“We don’t know what sort of offences will be prosecuted, but the first cases that go to prosecution are going to attract significant interest.”
Andy Leech, outgoing business leader at fleet software company CFC Solutions, was also of the opinion that for fleets that take risk management seriously, “there is no need to worry or take any action”.
Leech, however, added: “It is still possible to find fleets, especially at the smaller end of the scale, where health and safety knowledge is limited,” he continued. “These are the fleets that may, in the event of an accident, face the full force of the new corporate manslaughter law.”
Ten things you should do
1. Check all drivers’ licences regularly with DVLA (don’t just photocopy)
2. Have drivers assessed (start with a simple assessment of accidents, then online testing, then driver training)
3. Monitor and record ‘incidents’; fleet software can help with this
4. Act on information recorded
5. Keep your driver handbook updated
6. Become familiar with the Health and Safety documents (see ‘Useful Online Documents’ table above)
What is the act? It allows an organisation to be found guilty of corporate manslaughter if a senior management failure causes a breach in duty of care. Anyone driving on company business should be protected by the company's duty of care.
What makes a company guilty? Police investigating a work-related road death would consider three elements: the vehicle, the driver and the journey. If a car isn't roadworthy, a driver isn't fit to drive, or if he/she was asked to undertake too long a trip, then a company can be held liable.
What are the penalties if a company is found guilty? A guilty company can expect to face large fines that the Sentencing Guidelines Council aims to base on turnover rather than profit. Senior officials can still be prosecuted under existing manslaughter laws and can receive custodial sentences of around two-three years.
Readers' comments
Nick O' Sullivan3 April, 2008
I had a meeting last week with a company called All in One Leasing who are providing me with free software to manage my opt out drivers. Would recommend to others.
John Kane, Road Scan3 April, 2008
Companies have a major problem, that of controlling and monitoring driver behaviour. Observing how your drivers behave on the road and correcting adverse driving habits has always been difficult. Now RoadScan.co.uk has the answer Video Event Driving Recorders (VEDRs). They record driver behaviour and accidents, allowing you to analyse the event and give the approriate remedial driver training, or view an accident before, during and after it happened. RoadScan allows companies to add an extra level of duty of care, making sure they don't fall fowl of the new corporate manslaughter law.
Editor's comment
Please keep product/service plugs to a minimum.
Dave Dobson3 December, 2008
Despite the Health and Safety Legislation having been with us for 30 years many employers still do not understand their legal responsibility to manage the Work-Related Road Safety of their employees.
Lots of employees are satisfied that their drivers hold a full licence and that is all they require. Many of these small businesses do not have a Driving at Work policy.
If you employ more than 5 employees your Health and Safety risk assessments need to be recorded. This includes driving.
Driver training is an essential tool to ensure your drivers are not put other road users at risk.
It is too late when they receive a conviction or are involved in a crash. Should someone die as a result of their actions would you be safe from prosecution under the Corporate Manslaughter Bill?.
Readers' comments
I had a meeting last week with a company called All in One Leasing who are providing me with free software to manage my opt out drivers. Would recommend to others.
Companies have a major problem, that of controlling and monitoring driver behaviour. Observing how your drivers behave on the road and correcting adverse driving habits has always been difficult. Now RoadScan.co.uk has the answer Video Event Driving Recorders (VEDRs). They record driver behaviour and accidents, allowing you to analyse the event and give the approriate remedial driver training, or view an accident before, during and after it happened. RoadScan allows companies to add an extra level of duty of care, making sure they don't fall fowl of the new corporate manslaughter law.
Please keep product/service plugs to a minimum.
Despite the Health and Safety Legislation having been with us for 30 years many employers still do not understand their legal responsibility to manage the Work-Related Road Safety of their employees. Lots of employees are satisfied that their drivers hold a full licence and that is all they require. Many of these small businesses do not have a Driving at Work policy. If you employ more than 5 employees your Health and Safety risk assessments need to be recorded. This includes driving. Driver training is an essential tool to ensure your drivers are not put other road users at risk. It is too late when they receive a conviction or are involved in a crash. Should someone die as a result of their actions would you be safe from prosecution under the Corporate Manslaughter Bill?.