Corporate Manslaughter sentencing guidelines give stark warning

With the draft Corporate Manslaughter sentencing guidelines being published last week, Specsavers Corporate Eyecare is urging companies to carefully consider whether their eyecare policy could leave them open to the possibility of massive fines.

For the first time, the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007, allows companies and organisations to be found guilty of Corporate Manslaughter as a result of serious management failures resulting in a gross breach of duty of care. The sentencing guidelines have now been published for consultation and state that the fines may be ‘measured in millions of pounds’. An inadequate eyecare policy could easily put an employer in breach of the Corporate Manslaughter Act, whether related to employees using machinery, driving for work or simply in the course of their everyday job. 

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Laura Butler, Corporate Account Manager at Specsavers Corporate Eyecare, says: “Whilst the human cost in such cases is immeasurable, the financial cost to the company now looks likely to be in the millions. An employee’s eyesight relates to everything they do at work and failing eyesight could put them in severe danger under many different circumstances. Eyecare policies can be very simple and inexpensive to offer and can make a huge difference to the wellbeing of employees.”