Corporate Manslaughter
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Post 4 of 11
Re: Corporate Manslaughter
Added: 10:39 07.03.2008
My interpretation of this legislation is although they're looking at senior managers who can influence and make decisions, it's really also looking at management systems and the culture of the organisation. It's not just a case of ticking a box and saying, you've trained your people, you've got an induction process, you do risk assessments. It's actually about health and safety being integral to businesses, about people who live and feel health and safety. That's the key thing that's come out of it for me. It's very clear from my understanding that the investigations will be led by the police, which I think will furnish a drive or an increase in individual prosecutions under section 37, but equally for organisational prosecutions for corporate manslaughter. Decisions will be made by the CPS or the FPS. I think it will make it clearer and it's to some extent what the lawyers have been asking for in terms of being able to hold individuals and organisations more accountable, regardless of the size of the organisation. It's a case of watching this space, because we've got a number of interpretations of it and only time will tell.
John Nelson