Mobile IT responds to Corporate Manslaughter Act

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As the Corporate Manslaughter and Homicide Act comes into force today, a legal technology expert has confirmed renewed interest in mobile devices to ensure compliance.

The 2007 Act make it possible to prosecute an organisation by creating the obligation to a "duty of care" and introduces the possibility of company directors being held criminally responsible for negligence that leads to the harm of their employees for the first time.

"We've had a lot of interest in this Act on behalf of our clients," confirmed Paul Taylor, partner in the technology group of law firm, Osborne Clarke told IT PRO. "On the technology side, it has been more to do with new devices to respond to employees at potential risk and how that may figure in relation to the Data Protection Act [DPA]."

Technology providers have been developing new mobile devices or additional functionality to address key areas of the Act concerning the 'lone worker'.

"Businesses are looking at mobile technologies as the most cost-effective way to comply," said Nolan. "They also provide some comfort and peace of mind to lone worker staff."

According to the new Act, senior managers must prove they can undertake appropriate health and safety risk assessments of lone workers and make safety provisions for lone workers who may be faced with a risk of violence. They must also put contact procedures in place for emergencies so that the alarm can be raised and prompt medical attention provided if there is an accident.

The range of technologies now on offer includes panic buttons, GPRS location devices that can be used as standalone devices or integrated into existing enterprise mobile platforms to track staff or log and route emergency calls. But Nolan pointed out that the technology is not yet at the stage that it can pinpoint what floor or room any distress signal could be coming from, for instance.

And he added: "No one knows how much compliance will cost. The HSE [Health and Safety Executive] say it should be proportional to the level of risk your workforce, including lone workers, is exposed to."

According to figures from the British Crime survey by the HSE, 36 per cent of lone workers fear an increased of danger in the workplace. Latest figures (for 2002-2003) found 849,000 reported incidents of threats and actual assaults, giving lone workers a risk factor of 1.7 per cent.

Nolan said public sector organisations who have a duty of care to protect social workers and other staff doing their jobs in the community, as well as any company with a large mobile workforce, including sales and engineering field staff, were looking to adopt such technology.

"There are a raft of implications in using and storing such data under the DPA though," warned Nolan. "Treat it much like CCTV data and keep it for only as long as it is needed. And get the consent of the individual, while making them fully aware of when and how they will be monitored and how they can switch it off."

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