Businesses convicted of the criminal offence of corporate manslaughter can be fined millions of pounds with a £500,000 minimum under final guidelines published yesterday.

The Sentencing Guidelines Council (SGC), the body that sets sentencing bands for criminal offences, said fines “may be millions of pounds and should seldom be below £500,000” in its final guidance document.

“The advice is clear – punitive and significant fines should be imposed both to deter and to reflect public concern at avoidable loss of life,” the SGC said.

Corporate Manslaughter was introduced as a specific criminal offence in the Corporate Manslaughter Act 2007 which became law in 2008.

When deciding on fines, judges should not be influenced by the impact on shareholders and directors, the SGC said but should consider the potential effects of innocent employees and the effect the fine may have on the provision of services to the public.

Fines should be increased where is evidence that the business could have foreseen the accident and where breaches of rules were widespread in the organisation.

For other health and safety offences that cause death, fines should begin at £100,000 and go into the “hundreds of thousands” the SGC said.

Lord Justice Anthony Hughes, a Court of Appeal judge who sits on the SGC, said: “These are serious offences and the fines must be punitive and substantial and have an impact on the company or organisation.”

The sentencing guidelines take effect from February 15 and will apply to all prosecutions that go before a court from that date.

Source: Times Online