Employers' Liability

The joint Government/Health and Safety Commission (HSC) initiative "Revitalising Health and Safety" launched in June 2000 aims to substantially decrease the number of workplace accidents by the year 2010.

Whilst offering education, training and advice to employers on Health and Safety matters is a major driver within this initiative, enforcement of Health and Safety regulations is also having an important part to play in reaching these targets.

Cases investigated by the HSE have led to a total of 933 prosecutions in 2003/3, 86% of which led to a conviction and an average fine of nearly £10,000 per case. *

* Health and Safety Offences and Penalties 2002/3

Directors' Responsibility

Currently if the investigation shows that an offence was committed with the consent or knowledge of individual managers and directors, then these individuals (as well as the company itself) can be prosecuted under the Health and Safety at Work Act.

The HSE prosecuted 22 managers and directors in 2002/3, and convicted 11.

Those who are consistently negligent of health and safety law or fail to comply with improvement notices issued by the HSE risk imprisonment and/or disqualification.

5 people have been imprisoned for Health and Safety offences since 1996.

Further guidance can be downloaded from HSE’s website on www.hse.gov.uk

Corporate Manslaughter

Under present corporate manslaughter law, a company can be convicted only if a person is identified as its "controlling mind" and is found responsible for someone's death. If he or she is found not guilty, the company is cleared as well. There have been a number of recent high profile examples of where managers have been charged with manslaughter.

The offence of "corporate killing" in which no individual would be required to be responsible but actions could be brought against an individual company is yet to be made law, but is currently being debated in parliament along with giving company directors a stronger legal duty towards Health and Safety.

In short - companies simply cannot afford to get Health and Safety wrong - morally, legally and commercially.