"Can I be sent to jail?" Workplace health and safety laws - the liability of executive officers and the potential cost of prosecutions to business
Jul 2010 |Often when instructions to act in workplace health and safety prosecutions are received, most senior officers and managers are aware that their company may be exposed to a financial penalty. What they then usually ask is “Can I be sent to jail?”.
Although, theoretically, custodial sentences are possible for certain individuals being convicted for breaches under the relevant legislation, the most immediate question that should be asked is “What will be the ultimate cost to the company, particularly if a conviction is recorded against it?”.
This article will briefly examine the individual liability of officers of a company in a workplace health and safety prosecution. We will then examine the nett effect of a company receiving a recorded conviction.