Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide
Act 2007
The above Act came into effect April 2008, this allows time for the Health & Safety Executive, the Police and other Enforcement Authorities to organise new investigation procedures and to train staff. It also allows time for Organisations to look at plans needed to safeguard themselves in the case of a fatality.
Who is responsible?
Those in charge of organisations of whatever kind, in both public and private sector, will find themselves having the extra responsibilty for ensuring that their organisation is not caught out, simply because they did not take the steps to ensure that their organisation had a viable, efficient and organisation-wide Health & Safety plan in place.
Why should we worry?
You may feel that your organisation is ok and it is just another example of red tape to be ignored. Under the new legislation, one of the key factors in deciding whether to prosecute, will be whether or not a particular organisation has in place a robust and evolving Health & Safety programme. Indeed, the existence of such a programme could aid greatly in the defence of a prosecution under this Act. When you consider that the penalties include unlimited fines, no director or manager would want to be remembered as the person who did not take this Act seriously enough.
What should I do?
You can start by contacting us for an appraisal of your existing H&S environment. We can make suggestions that could save your organisation from paying out an enormous fine. Our experience in the H&S field is what you need.
West Lodge Consultants