The Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Bill

Question and answer section covers how the new bill will affect company drivers.

Q.  What is this new bill?
A.  It creates the new offence of corporate manslaughter if a company causes the death of an employee or member of the public.

Q.  What’s the difference between that and the existing law?
A.  Current manslaughter laws have to prove gross negligence of company bosses before an individual or firm can be prosecuted. That has proved very difficult meaning only a handful of cases have been successful.

Q.  Its sounds like it’s for big companies, does it include small companies.
A.  Yes.  The new law covers all employees driving on company business, staff who drive as a job and those who drive occasionally on short distances e.g. travelling to and from meetings, site visits and travelling to and from home to a non-permanent place of work.

Q.  Does it include someone I to do me a favour?
A.  Yes.  Example, a member of staff, friend or family member who you ask to drop off the post on their way home, or collect a parcel on there way into work or running an errand whilst they’re out shopping, all these constitute driving on business and come under the remit of Heath and Safety legislation.

Q.  I only have 2 members of staff that drive on company business what I need to do.
A.  Regardless of the size of the company, Employers should have a safety management system for driving at work just as they would for any other work related activity.

Q.  Does this include private vehicles?
A.  Yes ownership of the vehicle is irrelevant, you will have the same liability for individuals who drive their own vehicles on company business as those who drive company fleet vehicles, and in some respects the risks are greater.  This is because employers have less control over things like maintenance, tyres and suitability of the vehicle for the task.

Q.  I’m the owner of a small company – could I go to jail?
A.  Not under these new laws. They don’t contain the power to jail company bosses and are solely concerned with taking action against companies. But you can still be put in prison for killing an employee under Health and Safety laws and the common law of gross negligence manslaughter.

Q.  What are the penalties under this new law?
A.  The heaviest deterrent is an unlimited fine following a fatal accident. Companies will also be ordered to put right their Health and Safety practices and offenders will be named and shamed with details of their fines and offences.

Q.  So the court will have the power to bankrupt me?
A.  Yes – unlimited fines mean just that.

Q.  What sort of proof will the authorities need for a prosecution?
A.  They must prove that the management failure amounted to a ‘gross breach’ of the duty of care owed to the victim. Deciding factors include whether the company failed to comply with any relevant Health and Safety legislation, and if it did, how serious that failure was, and how much of a risk of death it posed. The court will also look at whether firms took Health and Safety seriously or whether a blind eye was turned to dangerous practices.

Q.  So who is considered a manager?
A.  Anyone who plays a significant role in the decision-making process about how the company's activities are managed and organised.

Q.  What should I do now to make sure I stay out of trouble?
A.  Check your company is up to speed on Health and Safety and make sure you don’t cut corners when it comes to protecting yourself and your employees at work.

Q.  Is there help available to put the required duty of care in place for driving at work.
A.  Yes, we offer Driver Training which can be incorporated into your MORR policy (Managing Operational Road Risk), we can also arrange an audit of your current MORR policy (Managing Operational Road Risk) and help implement any changes required to ensure your compliance with current guidelines and legislation,Don't have a policy then NCCC can help you write a MORR policy to suit your individual company.

Question and Answer section relating to NCCC course's

Q.  How many people are on the Course at any one time ?.
A.  A maximum of 3, unless the booking is a Group Booking.
 
Q.  Can Spectators attend ?.
A.  Yes spectators are welcome.
 
Q.  I am quite a nervous driver will I be able to cope ?
A.  Most certainly !  Our experience shows us that nervous drivers tend to listen very carefully to the instructions and therefore learn very quickly and really enjoy the new found driving confidence. 
 
Q.  How long does the Course take.
A.  2 Hours.