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A duty of care - a serious implication for the travel industry?
Falling under the remit of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) a Duty of Care affects everyone. No more so than corporates who have the added concern for staff, customers, their reputations and in some cases, share values.
Put simply the rise in travel alongside the growing difficulties brought about by terrorism, natural disasters, accidents and global health issues has meant that a Duty of Care is not only a legal requirement but a compliance necessity where the emphasis is on doing “everything practical” to protect the health and safety of employees and customers alike.
Why has it become a greater issue?
For more than 30 years Duty of Care under the HASW Act 1974, Employers Liability Insurance Act 1969 was the only liability to consider but now a Duty of Care towards staff and customers will soon become a matter of law, not least survival, with the introduction of corporate manslaughter by July 2007.
What is 'corporate manslaughter'?
This part deals with the circumstances in which a corporation or limited company (“a company”) can be prosecuted for manslaughter committed in the course of its operations. There is considerable public concern surrounding cases of corporate manslaughter; the topic therefore merits particularly close attention.
A company operates through the human agencies of its directors, managers and employees. For present purposes, a company can only be identified with an act, or omission, by one of its controlling officers acting within the scope of his office or authority.
It is difficult to envisage circumstances in which a company could be convicted of “voluntary manslaughter” (where all the elements of murder are present but the crime is reduced to manslaughter by means of a special defence) or involuntary manslaughter by means of an unlawful act.
Corporate manslaughter will, therefore, normally be considered in the context of involuntary manslaughter by means of gross negligence
Source : Crown Prosecution Office |
