In the recent case of R v Cotswold Geotechnical Holdings Limited the jury found that Cotswold Geotechnical, a small mining company, had ignored safety guidelines which led to the death of Alexander Wright, a geologist who died when a pit collapsed. The company was fined £385,000 on the company, a fine which represented 250% of the company's turnover, and would mean it could go into liquidation as a result. An appeal to the conviction was rejected in May 2011.  

The Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 came into effect in 2008 and clarifies the criminal liabilities of companies (including large organisations) where serious failures in the management of health and safety result in a fatality. This landmark piece of legislation makes the company responsible for failing to ensure a duty of care to their employees and can result in the organisation being found guilty of corporate manslaughter.

The recent case, the first of its kind, highlights the fact that the courts are willing to impose substantial and unlimited fines on companies who contravene the Act, which are calculated according to the size of the company. As this is the first case, on a fairly small company, it could be argued that we have yet to see the full power of this legislation. The real test will come when one of much larger and more complex companies falls foul of it. 

All organisations both large and small must therefore ensure that they have Health and Safety Management systems that not only ensures that serious accidents are prevented but does not fall below the standards expected. Safety Management Consultancy has a range of Consultancy services and Training designed specifically to help organisations meet these obligations. Our Policies and Procedure development can assist SME's establish a formal health and safety management system whilst our independent Health and Safety Auditing can check on the efficacy of the management systems within large corporate entities. We also offer the IOSH Safety for Senior Executives course which is specifically designed for senior personnel and includes detail on the requirements on the Act.