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Strict liability for employee acts 'unfair on UK companies'
HR News |
31/08/2010
UK companies require greater levels of protection against criminal acts committed by their employees, it has been suggested.
Steve Huxham, chairman of the Recruitment Society, said he agreed with the recent Law Commission finding that employers are overly exposed legally when such instances arise.
A commission report found that courts should be given the power to apply a due diligence defence to statutes that would otherwise impose strict criminal liability on employers.
It claimed that judges should regard themselves as free to depart from the identification doctrine when the statute's purpose would be better fulfilled by adopting an alternative theory of corporate liability.
Taken together, these proposals amount to a reform programme designed to reduce unfairness and arbitrariness in the imposition of liability on businesses and company directors.
However, they are designed so as not to disadvantage the police and prosecutors investigating as they combat corporate wrongdoing.
Commenting on the report, Mr Huxham said that in some industries, there is often the opportunity for rogue employees to go off and do something untoward, against the wishes and instruction of their employer.
And while companies do have a level of responsibility for their own staff, this should be reasonable and open to the interpretation of the courts, he said.
"Obviously there has to be an audit trail so you do have to show that you have taken what the court of law might deem as all reasonable steps to avoid the possibility of employees committing criminal acts," Mr Huxham said.
"It is important that [firms] do have that right to defend themselves and to demonstrate what they have done to minimise the risk both to themselves and to the public, other businesses, et cetera."
Mr Huxham commented that we live in an increasingly litigious age, and if businesses feel they have been wronged, the likelihood is that they will seek some form of recourse.
"In terms of liability, it is definitely a time to be more cautious, more covered, more secure, and have proper procedures in place than ever before," he claimed.
Posted by Jon Aspinell
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