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Business car leaders have their say on the newly approved Corporate Manslaughter Bill. Now you can add your comments too.
The long-awaited Corporate Manslaughter Bill will become law next year after unexpectedly leaping its final hurdle.
The bill, first drafted in March 2005, will now come into effect on 6 April 2008, the start of the new financial year. It has been ping-ponging its way between the House of Commons and the House of Lords because the two couldn't agree on if, and how, the police and prison service would be accommodated, but that reached a resolution on Monday with an amendment tabled by the Government.
Peers had been at odds with the Government since February, but the new amendment was enough to bring about a resolution to pass.
The bill almost ran out of time because the 12-month deadline from its initial reading passed last week, and the Government had to apply for a seven-day extension to avoid another lengthy delay ahead of the parliamentary summer recess.
Although the bill won't pin the blame for accidents on individuals, unlimited fines can be levied on companies "if the way in which any of its activities are managed or organised by its senior managers causes a person's death and amounts to a gross breach of relevant duty of care owed by the organisation to the deceased".
Prosecutors will need to prove mismanagement by senior managers was to blame for a fatality.
The BVRLA gave the development a warm response. "The final approval of this legislation is to be welcomed since it will clarify the legal responsibilities for companies, the great majority of whom are already successfully managing their responsibility in this area," said director general John Lewis. "It will also reinforce the duty of care that fleet managers will have to exercise particularly in the case of private cars being used for business purposes."
Hitachi Capital's head of operations Tim Bowden told BusinessCar he sees the new law as a "strengthening of the employer's role in promoting safety".
"Under the Heath & Safety at Work Act there was the opportunity to prosecute individuals, this broadens the responsibility to senior managers as a whole."
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