Stiffer fines for corporate manslaughter on way

NEW sentencing guidlines for corporate manslaughter offences are being introduced from today, meaning that firms face a fine of up to £20m for the most serious breaches.

Figures released by the Health and Safety Executive for the North West of England indicate that 88 cases were prosecuted in the region last year, with 81 of those cases resulting in a conviction and an average fine of nearly £22,000 per offence.

Nationally, an estimated 27.3 million working days were lost due to work related ill health or injury in 2014/15 while 142 workers were killed.

National law firm Pinsent Masons believes there could be a surge in prosecutions and that health and safety compliance should remain a high priority for all companies.

Kevin Bridges, the firm’s Manchester-based head of Health & Safety, said: “New guidelines are expected to increase penalties to a maximum of £20m fine for corporate manslaughter cases for relatively modest sized companies who commit the most serious offences.

“Organisations should ignore health and safety at their peril as fines across the board are set to rise significantly when the guidelines become mandatory from February 2016. Health and safety is clearly a priority for the enforcement authorities and a further increase over the next year in the number of cases being prosecuted would not be surprising.”
 
He added: “Boardrooms across the North West should be taking note, and if they are not already doing so, should be pushing health and safety issues to the top of their agenda. Effective leadership can have a significant impact on an organisation’s safety culture and pay dividends by ensuring a safer and healthier workforce. Good health and safety management is ultimately good business.”