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.

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.

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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docleaf^® launches supplier accreditation and self auditing as a possible way forward to help you fulfil your duty of care

docleaf^®  is launching a new service from June 2005, 'Third party health & safety accreditation' that will save considerable time, effort and cost for UK tour operators and other travel "packagers" of all shapes and sizes.

docleaf^® will use its own network of overseas and UK based health and safety staff to carry out a comprehensive annual 'health & safety' check of a supplier for Fire, Pool, Hygiene and general safety. The supplier is then provided with a certificate (akin to an MOT) detailing their safety status for each area, based on a Gold, Silver or Bronze result.

With this system a tour operators due diligence is almost complete. Third party accreditation exist in other industries already.  This negates the need for individual tour operators to conduct their own audit programme.

Indeed, the most attractive issue for tour operators with this system is that the supplier pays the small cost for the audit (550 Euro's annually), thus significantly reducing any tour operator expense in overseas health & safety auditing. You simply pay a small fee for a copy of the report.

The docleaf^® staff are all qualified in Fire, Hygiene, Pool and General Safety.  The destinations currently covered with our overseas resources are Spain (Mainland, Balearics & Canaries), Portugal and Greece, though we are expanding rapidly into other areas. In addition, our UK based staff can travel to any destination should you require it.

The audits are backed up by professional Fire and Hygiene consultants who have helped to develop the protocol.  This ensures all areas of safety are checked and meet the current standards of good practice and legislation.

In addition you are supported by the expertise and reputation of docleaf^® and our full liability insurance. We can additionally accredit transport and excursion suppliers for any company who has a need in this area.

The results are displayed on our dART (docleaf^® audit and risk tool) database where tour operators can purchase copies of relevant reports for a minimal charge.

A simple, cost effective solution for tour operators irrespective of whether you belong to FTO, ABTA, AITO, ATTA, ABTOF or simply trade independently.

Dotcoms and other travel companies can also benefit from our web based self assessment protocol where the supplier completes the survey on-line.  This is a low-cost option if you are featuring low volume units in multiple destinations that are costly to service.

Please email info@docleaf.com if you want us to audit any of your suppliers. docleaf^® helping you  to put 'customer safety first'.

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