IOSH campaign for tougher corporate manslaughter sentences
March 14, 2008
Suspension of all or part of a company’s board of directors should be one of the sentencing tools at a court's disposal when convicting under the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007.
That is one of a wide range of remedial orders suggested by the Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) in its recent response to the Sentencing Advisory Council’s current consultation on sentencing for corporate manslaughter and homicide. Other suggestions included far-reaching improvement orders, court ordered publicity and substantial fines — a minimum of which should be 2.5% of a convicted organisations's annual turnover.
The Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 comes into force on 6 April 2008 and possible sanctions in this regard are currently under review.
IOSH also put forward:
- the compulsory training or retraining of directors and senior managers in the management of occupational safety and health
- introduction of behavioural safety programmes
- the use of third-party audits and access to competent health and safety advice
- if necessary, the suspension of all or part of a board or governing body of a convicted orga?nisation
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