Directors' liability for death or workplace injury

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to focus on the liability of directors and senior officers within organisations (primarily companies but partnerships and sole traderships are considered where appropriate) and primarily focus on workplace settings.

Design/methodology/approach

Desk‐based research was carried out.

Findings

The scope of the paper is confined to two major aspects of the criminal law – that of manslaughter, both statutory and at common law and also touches on the range of health and safety offences available to the courts. In terms of manslaughter, under the common law, it is gross negligence that is considered.

Research limitations/implications

The paper does not attempt an analysis of forms of civil liability but does reflect on the broader relationship between responsibility of directors and company law. The debate over the responsibility of those in leading positions following death or injury to members of the workforce remains a live and problematic one. It is clearly linked to wider considerations of corporate responsibility.

Originality/value

On the one hand, those advocates of a system targeting erring directors in a direct fashion see utilisation of the criminal law (apportioning the full weight of public opprobrium), as the most effective way of improving safety for the workforce. By contrast the opposing view is that senior personnel rarely set out to kill or injure those who work for them and that a better way forward is to consider systemic failings running across an organisation. Linked to this is the notion that placing too much responsibility on companies and the senior personnel at their helm is a disincentive to the entrepreneurial spirit that allows business to flourish.

Citation

Dobson, A. (2013), "Directors' liability for death or workplace injury", International Journal of Law and Management, Vol. 55 No. 5, pp. 385-395. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJLMA-06-2013-0023