Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

TUC calls for urgent law review

by Personnel Today 1 Jan 2002
by Personnel Today 1 Jan 2002

Corporate manslaughter is back on the agenda following a not guilty verdict
on dockland death

The Government is being urged to bring forward plans for a new law on
corporate manslaughter, after a company was cleared in November of manslaughter
in the case of a casual worker decapitated by the jaws of a crane.

John Monks, general secretary of the TUC, said the not guilty verdict was
"devastating blow" to the victim’s family.

"It is also a blow to everyone who wants to see fewer people killed at
work. It puts the pressure on the Government – we need a new law on corporate
killing so that corporate responsibility is clear and the penalties are
effective, and we need it as soon as possible," he said.

In March, 2001, the Government proposed creating a new offence of corporate
killing, designed to make companies and public bodies criminally liable for
deaths caused by poor safety management.

However, the legislation was not included in the last Queen’s Speech,
although ministers have indicated the subject is still very much on the agenda.

Simon Jones, 24, was killed at Shoreham dockyard in West Sussex in May 1998
when the jaws of a mechanical grabber closed over him, severing his head.

A jury at London’s Old Bailey cleared general manager Richard Martell and
the company, Euromin, of manslaughter, although the firm was found guilty of
two breaches of health and safety regulations. It was fined £50,000 and ordered
to pay £20,000 in costs.

Jones, a student on his first day in the job, had been helping to unload
bags of stones from the hold of a cargo ship. He was killed when the lever that
operated the grab got caught in the clothing of the crane operator, causing it
to close.

The HSE said the verdict showed the difficulties within the present legal
system of bringing a case of manslaughter against a company or individual out
of a death in the workplace.

But the fact that the company had been heavily fined showed that health and
safety laws had been effective in this case, a spokesman added.

Corporate complacency to blame

Corporate complacency is at the heart of this year’s 34 per cent rise in
workplace deaths, the Industrial Society has claimed.

In October, the HSC confirmed there had been 295 workplace fatalities in
2000/2001, compared with 220 the previous year.

The society added its weight to calls for the Government to proceed with its
proposed corporate manslaughter legislation (see above) without delay and urged
employers to revisit their risk management programmes.

Funding for the Health and Safety Executive needed to be increased and
company directors needed to make sure health and safety was a boardroom issue,
it added.

At the same time, a poll by the TUC has shown greater appetite among the
general public for prosecutions of firms that flout health and safety laws.

The telephone poll of 1,000 people found 45 per cent of respondents wanted
to see more prosecutions, compared with 19 per cent against.

 

Personnel Today
Personnel Today

Personnel Today articles are written by an expert team of award-winning journalists who have been covering HR and L&D for many years. Some of our content is attributed to "Personnel Today" for a number of reasons, including: when numerous authors are associated with writing or editing a piece; or when the author is unknown (particularly for older articles).

previous post
Local government anger over failed Sector Skills Council bid
next post
TUC trains 500 reps to tackle gender pay gap

You may also like

Barrister wins gender critical belief discrimination claim

27 Jul 2022

‘Patchy’ mental health services failing ethnic minority communities

11 Jul 2022

Global study highlights hypertension treatment failings

8 Jul 2022

NICE sets out new guideline on managing depression

8 Jul 2022

Half of employees struggle to switch off on...

8 Jul 2022

Five steps for organisations across the globe to...

8 Jun 2022

The Search for Talent: Six Major Employer Pitfalls

24 May 2022

Grants scheme set up to support women’s health...

16 May 2022

How music can help to ease anxiety at...

9 May 2022

OH will be key to navigating ‘second pandemic’...

14 Apr 2022
  • 6 reasons why work-based learning is better than traditional training PROMOTED | A recent Fortune/Deloitte survey found that 71% of CEOs are anticipating that this year’s biggest business disrupter...Read more
  • Strengthening Scotland’s public services through virtual recruiting PROMOTED | This website is Scotland's go-to place for job seekers looking to apply for roles in public services...Read more
  • What’s next for L&D? Enter Alchemist… PROMOTED | It’s time to turn off the tedious and get ready for interactive and immersive learning experiences...Read more
  • Simple mistakes are blighting the onboarding experience PROMOTED | The onboarding of new hires is a company’s best chance...Read more
  • Preventing Burnout: How can HR help key workers get the right help? PROMOTED | Workplace wellbeing may seem a distant memory...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2022

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2022 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+