The Dart Maker Blog

The mechanism for imposing fine under the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 (CMCHA) has been questioned as being unfair on smaller businesses.

Participating in a consultation on proposals for fining under the Act, Thompsons Solicitors argued that proposing a fine without considering the turnover of the defaulting entity is clearly deviating from the purpose of the Act. The SGC has now decided to take into account the responses received at the consultation for coming up with the final guidelines.

The proposals in question suggested that the employers responsible for causing death of employees due to their negligence should be fined flatly above £500,000 without taking into account their turnover.

Several members of the law firm are uncertain about the effectiveness of the proposal, as it looks tough but might not be effective enough. The flat rate might result in partial or total closure of one company but might not be of any deterrence for larger enterprises. A better option in such cases would be to make better usage of remedial orders and to impose a penalty of 5% to one fourth of the turnover.

This would ensure that the bigger players feel the pinch of parting with a huge amount of money as punishment and the smaller enterprises become more careful, without having to fear about shutting down.

It might be unwise to try to value someone’s life in monetary terms but the defaulter needs to be punished for his acts, especially in order to deter others from committing similar health and safety mistakes. However, the proposal has not been implemented quite often.

Workplace Law Training & Consulting is equipped to provide professionally accredited training in key areas of workplace law and practice. Accredited by the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health to deliver internationally recognised health and safety courses; right from fire risk assessment to improving upon awareness and attitude, and communication about safety to improve the health and safety culture within an organisation.