Corporate Manslaughter

Your Companies Legal Responsibilities

CURRENT LEGISLATION

The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and 1992 and the P.U.W.E.R 1998 legislation require all Employers to be responsible for the Health and Safety of their employees. This includes driving any sort of vehicle while at work.

The legislation requires employers to conduct risk assessments and provide training as appropriate. You must also provide safe working conditions and practices. Records of these actions must be available for inspection. In matters concerning driving, Wallace Drivesafe can carry out all of these functions for your Company.

The implications of this legislation are that if one of your employees is injured at work (even if it was the employees own fault), the Company must be able to demonstrate it has taken reasonable action to ensure the driver’s safe driving and has complied with the legislation. If it cannot, any fine or imprisonment of the Directors will be much more severe.

It is no legal defence to say “Fred’s worked with us for 15 years and he’s never has an accident before!”

Corporate Killing and Corporate Manslaughter legislation, will seek to extend the responsibilities of the Company and its officers (i.e. Directors and Senior Managers) for the action of its employees.

In the event of an accident occurring whereby your employee, whilst driving one of the company vehicles injured a member of the public, the company and its officers could be prosecuted and management accountability would be focused by the legislation.

In order to mitigate any successful prosecution, the company would need to show evidence that it had taken all reasonable steps to prevent such an accident.