Stiffer penalties needed for safety breeches

The TUC and the British Safety Council (BSC) have described the current level of fines imposed on companies in breach of health and safety laws as "paltry". They have called on the courts to start imposing stiffer penalties on bosses paying scant regard to the health and safety of their workforce. In the year 1998-99, the average fine for such offences was just £5,038, according to a new report by the two organisations, Fine Times: penalties for breaking health and safety law.

TUC general secretary, John Monks, said: "Some employers are literally getting away with murder. And many more are committing grievous bodily harm on their workforce.

According to research carried out by Gary Slapper1, director of the law programme at the Open University, up to 55 cases of corporate manslaughter a year could be brought against companies and directors whose employees have been killed at work. But, he says, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) does not have the resources to investigate and pursue prosecutions adequately. The IPMS civil service union, which represents HSE inspectors, has called for stiffer penalties for health and safety offences and more resources for field inspectors.

The HSE will publish the names of companies and individuals convicted of health and safety offences in an annual supplement to the Health and Safety Commission (HSC) annual report. The initiative will start this year, and list those convicted over the previous 12 months.

1. Published in Blood in the bank - social and legal aspects of death at work (ISBN 1840140798), available, price £50, from Ashgate Publishing Direct Sales, Bookpoint Ltd, 39 Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4DT. Tel: 01235 827730.