New sentencing guidelines proposed for manslaughter offences

On 4^th July 2017, the Sentencing Council announced a consultation on its proposals for how offenders convicted of manslaughter should be sentenced in England and Wales. Read the full press release here.

Individuals found guilty of the most serious gross negligence manslaughter offences following workplace accidents could face up to 18 years in jail under new proposals unveiled by the Sentencing Council on 4th July 2017.

Why have these changes been proposed? The official statement from the Council is: “Sentences for gross negligence manslaughter are inconsistent and generally lower than for other types of manslaughter”.

Manslaughter always involves the loss of a human life, which is alone a sombre thought, but does the development of these revised guidelines invoke a positive global change that will motivate every employer to fulfil all their obligations and duties?

Or, will the revised guidelines result in economic changes based on business owners and businesses receiving sentences and fines that are unmanageable?

I am by no means saying that money is more important than a person’s life. I couldn’t be more passionate about appropriate levels of punishment.

What I really want to ask is: Why doesn’t the government do something more to prevent accidents? Why doesn’t the government do more to help business owners grasp the importance of the fact that every worker has the right to return home safely at the end of the working day?

Yes, we can all say the government’s sentencing guidelines and other services constantly provide relevant information that is accessible from an array of platforms, which the government spends tax-payers’ money on operating and updating.

So, what assistance does this actually give us? Yes, the guidelines tell us what to do, but do they help us achieve it? My experience says NO, they don’t, and even worse, some safety schemes introduced by the government create a false belief that we are operating safely and securely.

Business owners and workers need a more proactive and supportive effort to ensure technology is at the heart of STOPPING ACCIDENTS and REDUCING FINES. They don’t need the government to create more legislation to punish and condemn.

Why should 3 billion+ workers scour millions of different websites, applications and third-party information portals to find legislation, guidelines and rules?

With today’s amazing use of mobile technology, helpful and relevant information can be delivered directly to workers, wherever they are, and even better, filtered to suit their discipline and knowledge base.

As employers, our most valuable asset is our people. We need to PUSH PAST THE THINGS THAT WE BELIEVE CAN’T BE ACHIEVED and create standards in our organisations that help workers, improve management, increase productivity and ultimately move  Health & Safety away from a NEED TO HAVE into a WANT TO HAVE. 

We can achieve a revolution in reducing accidents, sentences and fines by simply working together, using common sense and creating  holistic, wholesome protection for every worker in every business with no judgement.

Please distribute this article to as many as possible in order to start a bigger campaign to reduce accidents and protect business owners and directors.