Manslaughter bill will fall before the election

The Government is finally to introduce a Bill that will allow companies to be prosecuted if they fail to ensure the safety of workers or the public.

But the draft Bill – which was a Labour manifesto commitment as far back as 2001 – is unlikely to be see the light of day this side of a General Election, expected next May, and so its future progress remains uncertain.

The Bill was included in the Queen’s Speech in November. It will introduce a new offence of corporate manslaughter, applicable when a death occurs because of management failure.

David Bergman, director of the Centre for Corporate Accountability, said that although he was pleased that a draft Bill was on the way, the Government had repeatedly broken commitments to publish a Bill since it came to power.

Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance

Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday

Email(Required)

OptOut

From time to time, we will send you emails about selected products, events and services from Personnel Today and OHW+ - but you can choose to opt-out at any time. If you do not wish to receive these emails, please tick this box.

Phone

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Δ

The Scottish Executive, meanwhile, has put forward its own plans for similar rules.

The executive is set to publish a consultation in the New Year looking at options, with the intent to introduce an offence of ‘corporate homicide’- which will apply when corporations and public bodies cause death through management failures.