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Defining Crisis Management

May 2005

Crisis management is all about protecting your customers, brand and business. In this article, we look at the new legislation planned to enforce accountability in organsations..

Corporate manslaughter - raised again in the Queens speech
Measures aimed at making firms accountable for fatal accidents at work have been unveiled in the recent Queen's speech. A draft bill to introduce a new offence of corporate manslaughter will be created. This will target "gross failings" by management which have directly led to fatalities.

Under current regulations, liability depends on proving the misconduct of one person at the top of a company rather than collective liability. It is not possible to add up the negligence of several individuals to show the company as grossly negligent. A specific individual has to be identified as a controlling mind for corporate manslaughter to be proven.

Pressure for Change
There have been a number of accidents, in the transport sector and in the workplace, which have provoked demands for the manslaughter law to be changed. P&O European Ferries and two directors were acquitted of the manslaughter of 192 people who died when the Herald of Free Enterprise sank off the coast of Zeebrugge in May 1987. The trial collapsed in its early stages when the judge ruled there was insufficient evidence against any director or senior manager. Rail crash victims, in particular, have been pressing the government to fulfil its 1997 commitment to introduce a new corporate killing offence. The Paddington train crash in 1999, in which 31 people died, was among the tragedies which fuelled further calls for this new legislation.

New Legislation
Some commentators have stated that improvement in the law on corporate responsibility is long overdue and the fact that this bill will initially be a draft is extremely disappointing. This means further delays before any legislation will take effect.

The above will be of "interest" for any organisation that has a duty of care for its customers and staff. How it will work in reality remains to be seen. Watch this space!

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The articles which appear on this web site are written and/or edited by Dr. David Perl, Chief Executive of docleaf®, unless otherwise mentioned. Articles are copyrighted to docleaf®. Permission to reprint will usually be granted for no charge. Write to info@docleaf.com. The articles represent the opinions of the authors and all information is provided "as is" without warranty of any kind.

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