Corporate Manslaughter

Corporate manslaughter is a crime that can be committed by a company in relation to a work-related death. The offence is explicitly linked to whether a company director or senior manager - "a controlling mind or will" of the company - is guilty of manslaughter.

If the director or senior manager is found guilty, then the company is found guilty too. Likewise, if the director or senior manager is found innocent, then so is the company.

What is Meant by "a Controlling Mind or Will"?

Under English law, there are two general homicide offences - murder and manslaughter.

If someone kills without intending to cause death or serious injury, i.e. the offence was in no way pre-meditated, but they were, in some other way, blameworthy then this is often referred to as 'involuntary manslaughter'.

Within the various categories of manslaughter, there is also the concept of gross negligence manslaughter. According to the Crown Prosecution Service, it has to be established that:

• There was a duty of care owed by the accused to the deceased
• There was a breach of the duty of care by the accused
• The death of the deceased was due to the breach of the duty of care of the accused
• The breach of the duty of care of the accused was considered so severe as to be categorised as gross negligence and, therefore, a crime.

The problem in corporate manslaughter lies in the fact that it is often impossible to prosecute one individual. Take for example, a rail crash in which several people were killed and it was considered an accident. It then emerged that the train had mechanical defects or maintenance problems that weren't rectified. Who is to blame? Is it the person who maintains the train, the engineer, the health and safety manager or the owner of the company? In theory, all of them must shoulder some responsibility.

The difficulty is, under the present law, it is not possible to add up the negligence of several individuals to show that a company has been guilty of gross negligence, a specific individual has to be identified as 'the controlling mind' for corporate manslaughter to be proven.

However, a new draft bill which was passed by the House of Commons in October 2006 and is now going through the House of Lords, aims to redress the balance in favour of the victims to ensure that companies whose negligence leads to the death of its employees or the public are brought to justice without the need for having to establish which individual was the 'controlling mind' behind such negligence.

If the bill is brought into force, corporate manslaughter will relate to the overall management of an activity within an organisation where a company, as opposed to an individual can be found guilty, thereby balancing the law in favour of victims by targeting those companies who are cutting costs and taking unjustified risks with people's safety. Many people have welcomed the proposals contained in the draft bill as it would force health and safety issues to be the concern of every member of staff, from the directors downwards which might make rogue employers take these matters seriously if they stand to lose on a personal basis. However, whilst people have welcomed the fact that it will be easier to bring prosecutions against reckless and negligent companies, the same might not be the case for prosecuting guilty individuals.