Corporate Manslaughter Trial to Begin in February

Cotswold Geotechnical Holdings, who are the first company being charged under the Corporate Manslaughter Act 2007 are expected to be tried next February, Bristol Crown Court was told today (19th August).

The company is being prosecuted under the Act, for the death of a geologist by gross negligence. The company's director, Peter Eaton is also charged with manslaughter under common law.
The deceased, Mr Alexander Wright, 27, was collecting soil samples from a trench, when the walls collapsed in on him.

Mr Eaton was due to enter his pleas at Bristol Crown Court, however, after an application for more time by his legal counsel, a plea hearing will now take place some time in October. The trial regarding the case however, has been provisionally set for 23rd February next year.

Corporate Killing Case Referred to Crown Court

Company director Peter Eaton has appeared before magistrates in Stroud to hear a charge of corporate manslaughter against his company, Cotswold Geotechnical Holdings.

The prosecution is the first to be brought under the new Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act. Eaton, 60, also faces a charge of gross negligence manslaughter, and both he and the company are accused of breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act.

The charges relate to the death of 27-year-old Alexander Wright, a junior geologist who was killed in September 2008 when he was buried beneath several tonnes of mud as he collected soil samples in a trench. It took rescue workers two days to recover his body.

No pleas were entered and Stroud magistrates referred the case to Bristol Crown Court, where Eaton will appear on 23 June.

Eaton, who told the court his position in the company was "principal or sole director", was granted unconditional bail.

This story first appeared on Health and Safety Professional

UK Bosses Prepared To Cut Their Own Bonuses Before Health And Safety

UK bosses are prepared to cut their own bonuses before health and safety, however lives are at risk as 1 in 12 workers admit to feeling under pressure to take risks.

A new survey from the British Safety Council (BSC) has found that over half of all businesses making cutbacks this year, will cut the bosses' bonuses before health and safety management.

Even though this demonstrates a positive attitude towards health and safety, the survey also raised significant issues in regards to health and safety and the recession. The survey found that one in ten workers is fearful of raising concerns about health and safety issues in the current economic climate. Furthermore, it was found that one in twelve workers feel that they are under pressure from their bosses to save money, by taking risks with people's safety.

The BSC's survey into the attitudes of bosses and workers to safety in the workplace revealed that although 95% of bosses were confident about what they are required to do legally in order to make their workplace safe, 26% of them were not aware of the 3 main pieces of safety advice and legislation:

• Health and Safety (Offences) Act;
• Corporate Manslaughter Act;
• Institute of Directors' Guidance for Directors.
  

Brian Nimick, Chief Executive of the British Safety Council, said:

"No one should have to work in a situation where they fear for their safety because of unsafe practices. There needs to be a clearly defined "safe to work" covenant between workers and bosses if we are to make the workplace in the UK and elsewhere as safe as possible.

"Even in the current challenging financial climate facing industry, now is not the time to make health and safety costs a casualty of cut backs."

While the majority of workers (70%) feel more inclined to be productive in an environment where their employer is attentive to their health, safety and wellbeing, only just over half of bosses (59%) now think that a proactive approach to health and safety enhances the bottom line compared to 72% in 2007.

In 2007/08 non-existent or inferior health & safety measures in the workplace killed 229 men and women and injured 136,000 employees - costing the industry £7.8bn.

Workers feel safer

The survey shows a noticeable improvement in workers' perceptions of their own safety since opinion was first measured in 2007. The proportion who feels 'very safe' has increased significantly, from 57% to 71%, while the proportion who does not feel safe has dropped from 7% to 4%. Overall, 96% of employees now feel safe at work, with 98% of bosses believing their workplace to be safe.

Regional Statistics

Employees in Wales feel the safest in the UK, with 84% saying they feel very safe compared to two thirds (67%) in 2007. Perceptions of workplace safety are particularly high in Yorkshire and Humberside, the South West, the East Midlands and East Anglia.

In the North West, almost half of workers feel very safe (49%, a decline from 61% in 2007). 17% in the region say their employer is bad at reminding them of their responsibilities regarding health and safety, compared with a national average of 6%.

Sector safety

Those who work in construction have shown a considerable improvement in their perception of safety, with only 2% feeling unsafe compared with 21% in 2007.

The catering/hospitality sector 11% do not feel safe at work compared to an average of 4%.

Almost a quarter of workers here say they are now less likely to raise a health and safety concern with their employer, due to the economic climate, compared with an average of 11%.

You can download the full report from the British Safety Council website.

First charge under 2007 Corporate Manslaughter Act

A company has become the first in the UK to be charged under the 2007 Corporate Manslaughter Act.

Cotswold Geotechnical Holdings is accused over the death of employee Alexander Wright, 27, who was killed when a pit collapsed in September 2008.

The junior geologist was taking soil samples at a site near Stroud in Gloucestershire at the time.
Company director Peter Eaton is charged with gross negligence manslaughter and could be jailed for life if convicted.

The maximum sentence for the firm is an unlimited fine.

Mr Eaton is due before magistrates in Stroud on 17 June. Both he and the company also face health and safety charges.

'Duty of care'

The 2007 Corporate Manslaughter Act was brought in to make it easier to bring companies to justice over the death of employees.

Kate Leonard, of the CPS Special Crime Division, said that an organisation was guilty of corporate manslaughter if the way in which its activities were managed or organised caused a death, and amounted to a gross breach of a duty of care to the person who died.

"A substantial part of the breach must have been in the way activities were organised by senior management," she added.

"I have concluded that there is sufficient evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction for this offence."

The prosecution was likely to be the first of many under the new legislation said Kevin Elliott, a regulatory partner at the law firm Eversheds.

Many work-related fatalities which occurred after April 2008 were currently under investigation for corporate manslaughter, he added, saying the offence took significant investigation by the police.

But Mr Elliot said there were still questions as to how the legislation relating to corporate manslaughter should be interpreted.

"In the meantime the message to all organisations could not be clearer - you must ensure your business is properly managing health and safety at all levels and that all applicable legislation and guidance is adhered to."