First organisation to be convicted and sentenced for corporate manslaughter

Cotswold Geotechnical Holdings is not the first organisation to be convicted of corporate manslaughter. However, on 15 February 2011 it had the unfortunate distinction of becoming the first to be convicted of the crime under the new law – the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007. The Company was indicted following an extensive, joint investigation by Gloucestershire Police and the Health and Safety Executive. This followed a fatal accident involving one of Cotswold’s employees, Alex Wright. On 5 September 2008, during the course of his employment, he was checking soil quality in a trench at a development site. The trench collapsed and he was killed.

The Company pleaded not guilty to the charge but after a 3-week trial at the Crown Court at Winchester the jury took only one and a half hours to return a guilty verdict. The jury heard evidence that the system of work was dangerous and that Cotswold had paid no attention to established industry guidance. Afterwards a Police spokesperson referred to the Company’s “cavalier attitude” to health and safety and that it used “out-dated working methods”.

At the sentencing hearing on 17 February 2011 Mr Justice Field fined Cotswold £385,000, commenting that this reflected both the gravity of the offence and the need to deter other companies from failing to adhere to health and safety law and guidance. The fine was higher than Cotswold’s turnover. The Judge recognised that this might put the Company into liquidation but, if so, it was unavoidable.

A critical factor in the case was that the Prosecution was able to prove that Alex Wright’s death was directly linked to the way in which the Company’s activities were managed and/or organised by its senior management; and that this amounted to a gross breach of the duty of care the Company owed to him. The case has answered a number of questions, such as – will the Courts treat corporate manslaughter very much more gravely than a health and safety offence where death resulted? Most definitely. The fine was at least twice if not three times more. And another – will Judges shy away from imposing so high a fine as to put an organisation out of business? Definitely not.

However, the case has left other important questions unanswered – such as, in a larger organisation, which employees rank as “senior management”? And where is the boundary beyond which the breach of duty care becomes “gross”? In the Cotswold case these questions answered themselves. We’re going to have to wait for a larger organisation to be prosecuted for the offence to get any worthwhile answers.

Curiously, in the Cotswold case the Judge commented that its principal director was, in effect, the Company. If so, then Cotswold could have been indicted (and, as likely as not, convicted) for corporate manslaughter under the old law. It is ironic that the new law, heralded as a means of calling larger organisations to true account for work-related deaths, has begun only where the old law ended – in the conviction of a comparatively small business.

The unanswered questions will have to wait for another day but the key for any Organisation’s senior management is to ensure that it’s not their Organisation in court with its future dependent on what the answers are. One way of ensuring that is to ensure that the Organisation has comprehensive, high-quality health and safety systems and procedures; that the systems provide full compliance, not only with health and safety law but also with all relevant guidance and best practice; that they are fully implemented, frequently reviewed and robustly audited; and that health and safety compliance is driven by senior management.

If you need further guidance on any issues related to the Corporate Manslaughter Act please contact the Health & Safety support line on 08453 100 999. If you are not a client, but wish to speak to someone about how we could help you, please contact Katy Vaughan on 08453 100 600.