New sentencing guidelines proposed for corporate manslaughter, health & safety and food safety offences

Posted on November 17, 2014

The Sentencing Council issued their consultation on proposed new sentencing guidelines for health and safety offences, corporate manslaughter and food safety and hygiene offences (“the proposed guidelines”) on 13 November.

As we have noted previously, the trend in sentencing for regulatory offences recently has been towards:

• Imposing significant fines even when no actual harm results but where there was the potential for such harm; and

• Examining in detail the structure, turnover, profitability and director’s remuneration of large companies in determining the appropriate level of any fine, to bring the message home to those benefiting from the company’s profits.

Read the press release.