The draft proposed sentencing guidelines for health and safety offences will inevitably increase penalties and a recent case highlights the need for employers including school governing bodies to be vigilant in respect of health and safety.
2. Sentencing guidelines consultation
What is it?
• health and safety offences, corporate manslaughter and food
safety and hygiene offences guidelines - consultation
• consultation closed in February – no approved guidelines
published yet.
3. Sentencing guidelines consultation
What are the changes?
• fines are going up!
• current sentencing guidelines for a H&S offence
causing death – seldom below £100,000
• using the consultation document, the fine could be
as high as £10,000,000 in the most serious
circumstances
• structured approach taking into account the
turnover and seriousness of the offence.
4. Health and Safety Offences
Consideration 1 – Culpability
• extent to which the offender failed to meet the standards
required of them.
Consideration 2 – Harm
• seriousness and risk of harm. The harm need not have
occurred.
Consideration 3 – Financial position of company
• turnover not profit.
5. Health and safety offences
Consideration 1 - Culpability
Organisations
• very High – deliberate breach or flagrant disregard for the law
• high – offender fell far short of the appropriate standard (ie. serious, systemic
failings, breaches for a long period of time, ignoring concerns raised)
• medium – between high and low
• low – offender did not fall far short (i.e. significant efforts were made to address
the risk, failings were minor and not systemic).
Individuals
• deliberate – intentionally breached or fragrantly disregarded the law
• reckless – foresight or wilful blindness
• negligent – act or omission that a person exercising reasonable care would not
commit
• low – as for organisations.
7. Health and safety offences
Consideration 3 – Financial situation (for organisations)
• micro organisations – turnover of not more than £2million
• small – turnover between £2million and £10million
• medium – turnover between £10million and £50million
• large – turnover of £50million and over.
12. Health and safety offences
The financial situations relate only to organisations, custody and community sentences
are available for individuals so a table was produced for sentences in relation to
individuals.