Back to Basics: Corporate manslaughter

You'll have to be either extremely unlucky or extremely clumsy to accidently kill somebody at your pub, but that's not to say it can't happen. There's a case at the moment, for instance, in which a barman died after being electrocuted by an unearthed glasswasher. Then there is food poisoning, violence and the dangers of cellar gas.

While these are rarely fatal, the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act, which came into force last week, has brought an employer's responsibilities sharply into focus.

If you, or your manager, are found to be in 'gross breach' of your legal duty to take care of someone's safety - whether they be a member of staff, a customer or a supplier visiting your pub - you may be fined up to 10 per cent of your turnover or, perhaps worse, ordered to publicise your conviction.

The new law applies to corporations and partnerships, and although individuals can't be prosecuted existing health and safety legislation continues to apply, so the principles of good management in these matters are relevant for every employer.

Licensing solicitors Poppleston Allen recently organised a seminar to help the hospitality industry prepare for the new legislation, and Pat Perry of health and safety specialists Perry Scott Nash set out a 10-point step-by-step plan that should help pub operators protect themselves against a corporate manslaughter charge.

As she says, these steps amount to a full "health and safety management review". If there is a fatality the pub will become a crime scene. Investigators will look for the underlying causes of the accident - inadequate procedures and training, for instance.

"They will be asking whether you have turned a blind eye to dangers, ignored advice or whether you have put profit before safety.

"The right procedures can prevent this happening. Ask yourself whether you are doing enough around these 10 things."

1 Identify the hazards. Make a list of the activities at your pub that could conceivably kill somebody. These might include:

• defective electrical/gas equipment

• pressurised gas in the cellar

• work done at height

• violent situations

• suicide caused by work stress.

2 Review risk assessments. Pick out the 'red risks', the activities that might cause a fatality, and reassess your systems of working:

• are your procedures up to date?

• are there improvements you can make?

• are you being complacent about anything or turning a blind eye?

3 Review your safety policy. Your safety policy could be your get-out-of-jail card:

• are your procedures and guidance documents up to date?

• are they clear and unambiguous?

• do your staff understand them?

4 Review your training programmes:

• is your training up to date?

• do your employees know how to work safely?

• do you test them on it? Don't assume your staff always know what to do, for instance how to report defective equipment.

• make sure you have good records to show who was trained in what and when. And watch your staff to see that they're doing things the way they should.

5 Review accident records. Look back on the past year's accidents and near misses and why they happened - including underlying causes such as attitudes. Did you make improvements to procedures as a result?

6 Review maintenance programmes. You should have a planned maintenance programme and make regular checks on electrical and gas equipment.

7 Do your staff know to report faulty equipment and other potential hazards and do repairs get done in a timely manner?Review your staff communications:

• Don't assume your people know what you expect them to do

• Are they all aware of the 'red risk' hazards?

• Do you keep them up to date with changes?

• Do you consult them on new procedures?

• Communication is a two-way process. Hold team talks and deal with feedback. Are they just whinging or do they have genuine concerns?

8 Audit your safety standards. The uninspected inevitably deteriorates, so check your standards and keep them up to date. Follow up your checks with a prioritised action plan that aims to reduce risks to reasonable levels. Keep all your reports to hand so you can demonstrate you have complied with your duties.

9 Identify your senior managers. Include yourself and anyone who makes decisions on how the pub is run or who actually manages the operation. You need to tell them their responsibilities under the new Act and assure yourself they are competent and have had the right training. (See below.)

10 Take a lead. You should take a personal interest in health and safety, setting objectives, defining a health and safety culture and making sure appropriate funds are set aside. Don't be seen to be putting profit before safety.

Senior managers

The key change brought in by the new law means that prosecutors no longer have to pin the blame on an individual to get a manslaughter conviction - a loophole that has in the past allowed bad health and safety practices that result in death to go unpunished.

Instead, the new Act defines 'senior managers' who, if they have failed to carry out their duty of care, can cause the employer as a body to be charged with corporate manslaughter.

Senior managers are people who play a significant role in either deciding how the business is managed or who are actually engaged in managing the organisation.