Hi,

As far as I know company directors have always been held responsible if their negligence contributes to the death of an employee. Certainly there was a case recently where a trainee died as a result of petrol burns in a garage. I'm fairly sure the owner of the business got a custodial sentence. However, this government certainly is keen on making new legislation where there is already a perfectly good existing law. Maybe it's just an attempt to close some of the loopholes that giant corporations with their expensive lawyers have been able to exploit. Though I still can't see the likes of Sir Richard Branson doing time if one of his ground staff gets sucked into a jet engine.

TW