Company directors are legally responsible

As of April 2008, company directors are legally responsible for the safety of their employees and for the consequences of accidents that involve the wider public. The penalties for non-compliance include fines or even imprisonment.

Companies and organisations should keep their Health and Safety management systems under review, in particular, the way in which their activities are managed or organised by their senior management.

In the event of serious road accidents involving vehicles being used for work the police will investigate suspected cases of corporate manslaughter/homicide. The Crown Prosecution Service will decide on will whether a case is to go to trial and Juries will be required to consider breaches of Health and Safety legislation in determining liability of companies and other corporate bodies for corporate manslaughter/homicide.

 

Juries may also consider whether a company or organisation has taken account of any appropriate Health and Safety guidance and the extent to which the evidence shows that there were attitudes, policies, systems or accepted practices within the organisation that were likely to have encouraged any such serious management failure or have produced tolerance of it.