Company directors let off as Corporate Manslaughter Bill passes through Parliament

Company directors will not be held liable if corporate negligence had led to the death of a worker, following a new law passed in Parliament this week. The Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Bill was passed as law in the Commons and creates a new offence of corporate manslaughter in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and corporate homicide in Scotland. The law will make companies, not directors, liable for any deaths due to a general breach of the duty of care by the firm. Individual directors would not be personally liable, as the new manslaughter offence would apply to corporations, including public bodies. The Bill came as a "severe disappointment" for construction union UCATT, as it failed to include clauses which would have allowed the imprisonment of company directors, if their negligence had led to the death of a worker. Without such clauses in the Bill, UCATT said there will not be a 'step change' in safety in the construction industry. Alan Ritchie,...

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