Bespoke - Corporate Manslaughterwww.jigsaw-training.co.uk

Case Study -  Corporate Manslaughter

Client - Housing Association

The Request - Corporate Manslaughter

The Directors and Senior Management Team were failing to gain full awareness, or accept responsibility, of their role with the introduction of a new offence of “Corporate Manslaughter”. The Health and Safety department asked us if we could design and deliver an interactive day for 35 people to get the very important message across that Health and Safety needs to be taken more seriously by the Directors and Senior Management Team, rather than relying of H&S to ‘deal with it’.

The organisation wanted a training company that would not simply present the issues of Corporate Manslaughter via a Power Point Presentation. They wanted the team to be involved, inspired and stimulated to learn, but they also wanted them to be shocked in order to take the very serious points on board.

The Solution

Prior to the training delivery, Jigsaw Training spent half a day with the Health and Safety team to review health and safety records and discuss possible reasons why the Directors and Senior Management Team were reluctant to get involved with Health and Safety Legislation.

We designed and delivered a full day’s interactive training day where team members were given roles to build and run an Airport, check in passengers and for 1 plane to take off on time.

Jigsaw Training provided all equipment and materials to build a runway, planes and a departure lounge etc. Other roles played by team members included Passengers, Airport Ground Staff, Contractors, Health and Safety Officers and undercover HSE officers making a fly on the wall video.

During the task, the activity was designed to simulate various incidents and accidents, including fall from heights, back injuries, stress and a fatality.

The training day culminated with a court hearing. Individuals involved in the accidents and incidents from the morning session were called as witnesses, we had a jury, 3 defendants, legal teams and the Press. The defendants included the Airline Health and Safety Officer, the Managing Director and The Chief Executive of the Airline.

Once the Jury had delivered their verdict, the Judge summed up and the defendants were sentenced, and led away in handcuffs, the reality of what would happen hit home. Gasps from the defendants and the jury clearly indicated the shock at the potential, and realistic, outcome of Corporate Manslaughter.

Benefits

All delegates stated that they were totally aware that they were criminally liable where a death occurs unintentionally under the new offence of Corporate Killing!

The team told us that that they had previously looked at the Health and Safety Department to deal with all legislation and that they were now fully aware that although the new offence covers death at work and targets the corporate, not individual, liability, where a particular person is directly to blame for the death, prosecution of that individual will remain an option.

As a direct result of the training, the organisation has focused on Health and Safety and is proactive in adhering to their duties under the Health and Safety at Work Act. They now totally believe and feel that the training has made them deliver health and safety more effectively.