A public consultation by the Sentencing Council is under way to ascertain whether firms who ignore their health and safety responsibilities should be subject to tougher fines.
In particular the consultation will be focussing on larger organisations who are found guilty of corporate manslaughter, which could see fines raised to £20m. Also under consideration are proposals to increase fines for fatalities caused by poor health and safety up to £10m.
The consultation has come about as the Sentencing Council feels current guidelines are vague and there is no “comprehensive guidance” on the subject. No upper limits are in place at the moment on fines, and a company’s ability to pay is not taken into account leading to many larger companies being under penalised on serious offences, such as members of the public being killed by scaffolding not erected properly or employees seriously injured by machinery at work.
Many of the guidelines hoping to be introduced by the council are aiming to bring consistency and proportionate sentencing to offences as judges are often unsure how to deal with them because cases are still relatively rare. The latest figures released by the Health and Safety Executive covering 2013/14 reveal 133 people died as a result of injuries obtained at work, and 70 members of the public were injured in work-related incidents.
Proposals for tougher sentencing and guidelines on food hygiene have also been introduced for the first time covering health and safety issues such as food poisoning and cockroach or vermin infestation.
The new proposals have to take into account existing legal guidelines and will depend on both the seriousness of the offence committed and the organisation’s financial means when sentencing the guilty party. Fines and sentences on low-level health and safety offences will not change because these are already determined by firms’ financial circumstances, and were found to be commensurate.
It’s hoped the new sentencing levels will act as a deterrent to larger organisations to drive them to improve standards, and stop “flouting their responsibilities.”
Michael Caplan QC from the Sentencing Council said: “We want to ensure that these crimes don’t pay. They can have extremely serious consequences and businesses that put people at risk by flouting their responsibilities are undercutting those that maintain proper standards and do their best to keep people safe.
“Our proposals will help ensure a consistent approach to sentencing, allowing fair and proportionate sentences across the board, with some of the most serious offenders facing tougher penalties.”
The public consultation started on the 13th November and will run until the 18th February 2015. It is seeking the opinion of those involved in industry, the criminal justice system and regulatory enforcement on what factors should be taken into account when sentencing, and how to determine what makes offences serious or less-serious.
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