The present law is regarded as unsatisfactory in that in the case of large companies the individuals who would be the directing mind (at board level) are invariably at some distance from the actual carrying out of the company's activities. It therefore follows that such an individual would not personally act in a way which would constitute gross negligence with the result that a large organisation could not be convicted of corporate manslaughter. Pressure mounted from the survivors and families of those killed and injured in major disasters such as The Herald of Free Enterprise and rail crashes for the law to be amended so that manslaughter convictions could be more easily obtained by removing the necessity for a personal act of gross negligence on the part of a senior individual.

The Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Bill received Royal Assent on 26 July 2007 and will come into force on 6 April 2008 (with the exception of the provisions relating to deaths in custody which will come into force at a later date yet to be announced).

The Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act (the Act) creates a new criminal offence of corporate manslaughter in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and a new offence of corporate homicide in Scotland. The new offence replaces the common law offence of manslaughter by gross negligence.

The new offence applies only to companies and other organisations in the private and public sector, including Government departments and the police force. It does not apply to individuals (including company directors and managers), who will continue to be liable under the common law of manslaughter and existing health and safety legislation.

Companies and other organisations will face an unlimited fine if death is caused by a gross breach of a relevant duty of care. A "gross breach" means conduct which falls far below what can reasonably be expected of the company or organisation in the circumstances. A "relevant duty of care" is defined as certain types of duty of care owed under the law of negligence. This includes a duty of care owed to employees, as an occupier of premises, by virtue of the supply of goods or services or the carrying out of construction or maintenance operations. The offence is therefore not strictly limited to breaches of health and safety legislation.

The gross breach of the relevant duty of care needs to arise out of the conduct of senior managers. A senior manager is someone who plays a significant role in the making of decisions about how the organisation's activities are managed or in the actual managing of those activities.

The new law will not however identify guilty individuals. It is specifically provided that no individual can be prosecuted for the offence of corporate manslaughter. It follows therefore that, although it will be a more straightforward task to obtain a conviction for corporate manslaughter, the principal aim of those originally seeking the reform will not have been achieved.