Fine For Health And Safety Breaches Will Cost The Companies In Proportion To Their Respective Turnover
Dailycsr.com – 18 November 2015 – Sentencing Council has announced that “higher penalties” will be introduced for “some offenders”, especially the “large organisations” who are pleaded guilty of “committing serious offences”.
Moreover, giving further specifications, the Sentencing Council informed that the companies whose turnover exceeds “£50m” could face a penalty of “£20m” under the offence category “manslaughter”, while there can be a fine of “£10m” for pleading guilty in breaching “health & safety” regulations.
Nevertheless, there is no such anticipation as increment of “fines across the board” or the fines being “significantly” high for “in the majority of cases to those currently imposed” for that matter.
Till recent times, the magistrates and judges did not possess extensive guidelines for dealing with serious and complex issues of safety breaching offences for erstwhile they were not as frequent as “some other criminal offences”. However, the Sentencing Council also stated that there are some “new” and “more comprehensive” guidelines for Wales and England, which also covers the offences, committed under the “food safety and hygiene” regulations.
Moreover, the tci reports that:
“The increase in penalties for serious offending has been introduced because it was felt that some offenders had got off lightly. The council said it wants fines to be proportionate to the seriousness of the offence and the means of offenders”.
The new guidelines will be keeping the “turnover of the offender” as a yard stick to identify the “starting point of the fine”. In case, any additional “relevant financial” information regarding the company is obtained like its “profit margin” and so on, the same will be taken into consideration before determining the final fine amount.
The report also states that addressing the issue of adapting to corrective measures should be done by the Health & Safety Executive instead of carrying out a legal procedure in the court for the same. However, the guidelines state that “remedial orders to be made by the court” which will be in addition to or instead of the “punishment” depending on the situations, while there is a provision made for “a range of mitigating factors that allow for voluntary positive action to remedy a failure on the part of offenders to be reflected in sentences”. One of the members of the Sentencing Council, Michael Caplan QC states:
“These guidelines will introduce a consistent approach to sentencing, ensuring fair and proportionate sentences for those who cause death or injury to their employees and the public or put them at risk. These offences can have very serious consequences and it is important that sentences reflect these.”
References:
http://www.theconstructionindex.co.uk/
Moreover, giving further specifications, the Sentencing Council informed that the companies whose turnover exceeds “£50m” could face a penalty of “£20m” under the offence category “manslaughter”, while there can be a fine of “£10m” for pleading guilty in breaching “health & safety” regulations.
Nevertheless, there is no such anticipation as increment of “fines across the board” or the fines being “significantly” high for “in the majority of cases to those currently imposed” for that matter.
Till recent times, the magistrates and judges did not possess extensive guidelines for dealing with serious and complex issues of safety breaching offences for erstwhile they were not as frequent as “some other criminal offences”. However, the Sentencing Council also stated that there are some “new” and “more comprehensive” guidelines for Wales and England, which also covers the offences, committed under the “food safety and hygiene” regulations.
Moreover, the tci reports that:
“The increase in penalties for serious offending has been introduced because it was felt that some offenders had got off lightly. The council said it wants fines to be proportionate to the seriousness of the offence and the means of offenders”.
The new guidelines will be keeping the “turnover of the offender” as a yard stick to identify the “starting point of the fine”. In case, any additional “relevant financial” information regarding the company is obtained like its “profit margin” and so on, the same will be taken into consideration before determining the final fine amount.
The report also states that addressing the issue of adapting to corrective measures should be done by the Health & Safety Executive instead of carrying out a legal procedure in the court for the same. However, the guidelines state that “remedial orders to be made by the court” which will be in addition to or instead of the “punishment” depending on the situations, while there is a provision made for “a range of mitigating factors that allow for voluntary positive action to remedy a failure on the part of offenders to be reflected in sentences”. One of the members of the Sentencing Council, Michael Caplan QC states:
“These guidelines will introduce a consistent approach to sentencing, ensuring fair and proportionate sentences for those who cause death or injury to their employees and the public or put them at risk. These offences can have very serious consequences and it is important that sentences reflect these.”
References:
http://www.theconstructionindex.co.uk/
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