Health And Safety Fines To Increase Drastically

Under tougher guidelines proposed by the Sentencing Council, large firms convicted of corporate manslaughter will face fines of up to £20m.The Council’s aim is to help ensure sentences that not only punish the offender, but deter them and others from committing these crimes while removing any financial benefit they may have had from offending.

These offences can result in organisations that maintain proper standards being undercut by offending businesses who are often motivated by saving money at the expense of safety. The council therefore feels that fines should be big enough to have a real economic impact which will bring home to the offending organisation the importance of achieving a safe environment for those affected by its activities.

The Sentencing Council announced the review in 2014 in part due to concerns that some sentences imposed for these offences have been too low, particularly in relation to large organisations convicted of the most serious health and safety and food safety offences

In 2013/14 in the UK, 133 people were killed at work and 70 members of the public fatally injured in accidents connected to work, according to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

However, to date, there have been only eight convictions for corporate manslaughter in England and Wales since the legislation was introduced in 2007. The largest fine issued thus far was handed down just a few weeks ago when a company was found guilty of corporate manslaughter and fined £500,000 following the death of an employee.

Given the fact that £500,000 is the biggest fine handed out so far, it is evident that the proposals from the Sentencing Council to substantially increase the fines are set to shake things up and ensure that companies start to take health and safety more seriously.

Source: SHP / TUC Risks

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