Is your Company Driving on Thin Ice?

The Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 came into force on 6 April 2008, creating a new offence called Corporate Manslaughter in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and Corporate Homicide in Scotland.

Under the law, an organisation will be guilty of an offence if the way its activities are managed or organised by senior managers results in a person's death and amounts to a gross breach of a relevant duty of care by the organisation to the deceased.

The Act reinforces the obligation on a company to comply with existing health and safety legislation and makes it easier to prosecute companies causing death through negligence.  As such, it is essential that your company's health and safety management policies and procedures are up to date and enforced throughout the workplace.

Directors and senior managers must be aware of their responsibilities and receive training where appropriate.

One area that some employers have neglected in the past is that of occupational road risk.  Numerous reports show that driving is the most hazardous part of many people's work - the Health and Safety Executive have estimated that around 250 road deaths and serious injuries each week involve someone at work.  Yet many businesses have failed to take the issue of road safety seriously.

A growing area of concern is the rising number of employees using their own cars for business travel, such vehicles often being described as 'grey fleets' because of the lack of infomation known about them.  Grey fleets often sit outside normal company car reporting and policing channels, with some employers failing to check even basic details.  This growing trend has created a large number of unchecked and unmanaged drivers who are a potential health and safety time bomb for employers under the new legislation. 

The new Act forces businesses to review the risk of work-related driving activities and ensure that they have in place a comprehensive written 'Driving At Work' policy covering both company and non-company vehicles.  This policy should be communicated to all employees.

If you would like assistance reviewing your company's health and safety arrangements, please contact us.

Last reviewed 7/11/2011

Source: Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v1.0.  © Crown Copyright Health and Safety Executive

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