Corporate killing Bill could be start of safety shake up

The government’s Bill on corporate manslaughter will pave the way for more safety prosecutions, according to the Trades Union Congress (TUC).

But, while the draft Bill would make it easier to prosecute firms found guilty of safety breaches, the TUC added that individual directors needed to be made liable for accidents and injuries sustained at work if there is to be any change in the UK’s poor safety record.

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TUC general secretary, Brendan Barber, said: “It is important to emphasise that no-one is talking about prosecutions for the sake of it. However, we do need the threat of prosecutions if corporate responsibility on health and safety is to be improved.”

The government published its draft Bill in April. It will create a new criminal offence of corporate manslaughter that will apply when someone has been killed because the senior management of a corporation has “grossly failed to take reasonable care for the safety of employees or others”.