Jail for manslaughter director who ignored safety warnings

摘要

A company director has been imprisoned for four years for the gross negligence manslaughter of an employee who was crushed to death while breaking up glass in a warehouse. The director ignored warnings on the day of the fatal incident, personally instructed the victim to carry out the dangerous work, failed to assess the risks or provide a safe method of work, failed to ensure his employees were sufficiently trained and did not provide the necessary personal protective equipment (PPE). The case is particularly noteworthy because: 1. the Crown Prosecution Service initially decided not to charge the director with manslaughter but the decision was reversed after the victim's brother successfully sought a review; 2. it is only the third work-related case to be sentenced under the Sentencing Council's guideline on manslaughter, which came into force on 1 November 2018 (see box 1 and HSB 472 p. 7). The two previous cases resulted in custodial sentences of four years and six months (HSB 475 p.2); and three years and two years (the case involved two directors of the same company) (HSB 474 p.9); and 3. according to HSB's records, there have now been 78 convictions for gross negligence manslaughter related to work. Nearly all of the offenders were sole traders or owners of very small businesses.