The organisation will be guilty of an offence if the way in which its activities are managed or organised:

• cause a person’s death
• amount to a gross breach of a relevant duty of care owed by the organisation to the deceased.

Responsibility under the Act for correct administration of health and safety procedure lies with directors and senior managers. They represent the guiding will and mind of an organisation and play a significant role in how the whole, or a significant part, of their organisation's activities are managed or organised.

Companies and organisations should keep their health and safety management systems under review, in particular, the way in which their activities are managed and organised by senior management. The Institute of Directors and HSE have published guidance for directors on their responsibilities for health and safety: ‘Leading health and safety at work: leadership actions for directors and board members’.

A number of companies have been issued with substantial fines under the Corporate Manslaughter Act. Details are available from the Crown Prosecution Service.

The threshold for activation of the new Act is high because the prosecution has to prove “gross negligence”.

The Magistrates’ guide states; “In order to convict a company of manslaughter it must be seen that a causal link existed between a grossly negligent act, or omission by a person who is the “controlling mind” of the company, and the immediate cause of death”.

The provision of first aid is one of the many elements you need to have in place. Health and safety in the workplace and first aid courses are two separate things and we recommend that the Fire marshal and First aider are separate people within your organisation. Having one person undertake both roles could lead to injuries being untreated during a fire or fire practice, for example.

You must regularly review all your health and safety procedures and assessments of risks and risk management in your organisation. If training is needed then St John Ambulance will be able to provide expert help in all aspects of health and safety and first aid training for employees and management.

Offences under the act only become effective when the Act became law on April 6 2008.

A person can only be culpable for a failing within their sphere of responsibility. Failings of higher management are the responsibility of higher managers. However, it’s a good idea to make sure you have an audit trail of your own activities as a safeguard should a prosecution ever be made against you or your company.

We have a range of health and safety courses which are approved by recognised industry bodies including:

• IOSH (Institution of Occupational Safety and Health)
• British Safety Council
• Institution of Fire Engineers.

Attendance on these courses is supporting evidence that your organisation takes the health and safety of its employees and customers very seriously.

Browse health and safety courses