25 October 2005
Amicus has said that the drafting of the new corporate manslaughter bill is too narrow and fails to allow for directors or senior managers to be held individually responsible for health and safety breaches.
Amicus says that an additional offence of 'unlawful killing' that would allow individuals to be prosecuted, with penalties ranging from fines to possible imprisonment.
Giving evidence to a committee hearing on the Draft Corporate Manslaughter Bill yesterday, Amicus' Head of Parliamentary, Mike Griffiths, said: "We have waited a long time for legislation that will give greater protection to UK workers, but all the evidence shows that unless senior individuals in organisations are held personally liable for health and safety failures, standards will not improve.
"The government committed to changes before the last election at Warwick and we will campaign to insist that these provisions are included in the bill."
As well as possible imprisonment, Amicus is also campaigning for much larger fines to be imposed and the removal of Crown Immunity which protect certain public bodies from prosecution for health and safety lapses.
Weakness in existing legislation has led to charges being dropped against directors over the Hadfield and Paddington rail disasters.
Amicus wants a range of other penalties also to be included, including personal fines, suspension or disqualification of directors, retraining or remedial training orders, and community health and safety service orders against directors or senior managers.
A report commissioned by Amicus from the Centre for Corporate Accountability, shows that inspection and investigation backed by legislation is the most effective way to guarantee safety at work. There is overwhelming evidence that the threat of legal action is the key driver for companies to improve their health and safety standards.
