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Section from
Revitalising Health and Safety: Strategy Statement
(June 2000)
Corporate Responsibility
and the role of Directors and Responsible persons
of similar Status.
| 65. |
There has been
growing public concern that the existing offence
of corporate manslaughter is flawed. Following
the Southall Rail crash in 1997 which resulted
in 7 deaths and 151 injuries, Mr Justice Scott
ruled that a charge of manslaughter could not
succeed because of the need to 'identify some
person whose gross negligence was that of Great
Western Trains itself". Similarly, prosecution
against 7 individuals and the company following
the Herald of Free Enterprise disaster in 1987
failed because the "various acts of negligence
could not be aggregated and attributed to any
individual who was a directing mind". In
the history of English law there have been only
three successful prosecutions for corporate manslaughter,
all against small companies. |
| 66. |
The Law Commission
recommended that a special offence of 'corporate
killing' should be created. In cases where management
arrangements had failed to ensure the health and
safety of workers or the public, a death would
be regarded as having been caused by the conduct
by the conduct of the corporation. Individuals
within a company could still be liable for the
offences of reckless killing and killing by gross
carelessness, as well as the company being liable
for the offence of corporate killing. Directors
and managers can also be prosecuted under section
37 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 if
an offence committed with their consent or connivance,
or is attributable to neglect on their part. |
| 67. |
The Home Office
published on 23 May 2000 a consultation document
on involuntary manslaughter with a view to implementing
the law Commission Recommendations on a new "corporate
killing" offence in England and Wales. The
Consultation document covers the issue of corporate
liability and the extent to which Directors should
be personally liable. The Scottish Executive will
consider whether, in light of the proposals in
England and Wales, any changes are needed to Scottish
Law. |
| 68. |
Many consultees
considered that greater prominence for health
and safety issues at board level was the key to
raising standards. Responses from health and safety
practitioners p[pointed unanimously to the perception
of a low profile for their profession with little
support from senior management. |
Action Point 11
The Health and Safety Commission will develop a code
of practice on Directors' responsibilities for health
and safety, in conjunction with stakeholders. It is
intended that the code of practice will, in particular,
stipulate that organisations should appoint an individual
Director for health and safety, or responsible person
of similar status (for example in organisations where
there is no board of Directors).
The Health and
Safety Commission will also advise Ministers on how
the law would need to be changed to make these responsibilities
statutory so that Directors and responsible persons
of similar status are clear about what is expected
of them in their management of health and safety.
It is the intention of Ministers, when Parliamentary
time allows, to introduce legislation on these responsibilities."
| 69. |
Health
and Safety Executive guidance confirms that,
in organisations that are good at managing health
and safety , health and safety is a board room
issue and a board member takes direct responsibility
for the co-ordination of effort. Ministers and
the Health and Safety Commission attach importance
to ensuring that organisations appoint an individual
director for health and safety or a responsible
person of similar status
The Royal Society
for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) launched
a new initiative called Director Action on Safety
and Health (DASH) on 27 October 1999. This will
seek to co-ordinate a programme of activities
involving key stakeholders aimed at encouraging
more effective involvement of Directors. |
| 70. |
Health and Safety
management needs to be set firmly in the wider
context of corporate Governance and corporate
social responsibility. Guidance on the internal
control requirements of the Combined Code on Corporate
Governance, developed by a working party under
the chairmanship of Nigel Turnball, was published
by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in September
1999. The guidance is intended to ensure that
the board is aware of the significant risks faced
by their company and the procedures in place to
manage them. Boards of directors are called on
to review regularly reports on the effectiveness
of the system of internal control in managing
key risks, and to undertake an annual assessment
for the purpose of making their statements on
internal control in the annual report. |
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