Overall benefits
The Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide (Scotland) Act 2007 will enter the statute books in June this year. Under its provisions, it will be easier for companies of all sizes to be successfully prosecuted for causing the death of an employee or anyone else in their care - mainly because it will no longer be necessary to prove the presence of a ?controlling mind'.
Kill Bill
On 8 March, the government announced it is to push ahead with its draft Corporate Manslaughter Bill. In response, TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said: "We are pleased that ministers have listened to concerns over the way that the original Bill focused overly on failures by senior managers and will instead now look for ways of broadening the basis for liability within an organisation.
Herculean effort or Olympic gold?
As we go to press, with London on the final countdown to the 2012 Olympics, plant engineers – although excited by the spectacle and impressed by the scale of the interdisciplinary project engineering that has made it all happen – will inevitably be focused on large and looming concerns.
Lifting the bar
Case law demonstrates that courts are taking an increasingly tough line with lifting-related accidents, if companies and plant managers cannot prove due process, writes Crispin Kenyon
Falling foul of the law
Slips, trips and falls remain a problem are across a wide range of facilities and industry types. Leigh Carter spells out the regulatory position and examines issues and solutions
Corporate manslaughter
Ignorance of health and safety law is 'staggering', with only 10% fully aware, according to HSE figures. Brian Tinham looks at the risks
Good for everyone
Workplace regulations may not be facing radical change, but their implementation and policing certainly are. Brian Tinham reports on the price of the cuts