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Corporate manslaughter

s.1 Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 · Crown Court

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Sentencing framework

The guideline for corporate manslaughter emphasizes the seriousness of the offence, stating that it involves high levels of harm and culpability due to the nature of corporate fault. Sentencing is structured around the severity of the offence, determined by factors including foreseeability of serious injury and adherence to industry standards. A starting point for fines is established based on the company's turnover, with adjustments made for aggravating or mitigating factors.

Maximum sentence

unlimited fine

Court

Crown Court

Offence range

£180,000 fine – £20 million fine

Aggravating factors

  • ·Previous convictions
  • ·Cost-cutting at the expense of safety
  • ·Deliberate concealment of illegal nature of activity
  • ·Breach of any court order
  • ·Obstruction of justice

Mitigating factors

  • ·No previous convictions or no relevant/recent convictions
  • ·Evidence of steps taken to remedy problem
  • ·High level of co-operation with the investigation, beyond that which will always be expected
  • ·Good health and safety record
  • ·Effective health and safety procedures in place
  • ·Self-reporting, co-operation and acceptance of responsibility

Sentencing range explorer

Select the culpability level and harm category to see the guideline's starting point and category range. This is an educational illustration of the published guideline — not a sentence calculation, and not legal advice. Courts apply the full step-by-step process, aggravating and mitigating factors, and the totality principle.

Culpability

Harm

Select a culpability level and a harm category above.

The sentencing process, step by step

  1. Step 1 — Determining the seriousness of the offence
  2. Step 2 — Starting point and category range
  3. Step 3 — Check whether the proposed fine based on turnover is proportionate to the overall means of the offender
  4. Step 4 — Consider other factors that may warrant adjustment of the proposed fine
  5. Step 5 — Consider any factors which indicate a reduction, such as assistance to the prosecution
  6. Step 6 — Reduction for guilty pleas
  7. Step 7 — Compensation and ancillary orders
  8. Step 8 — Totality principle
  9. Step 9 — Reasons

Guideline notes

  • The guideline applies to all organisations sentenced on or after 1 February 2016. Courts should ensure the fine reflects the seriousness of the offence while considering the financial circumstances of the offender.

Always read the full guideline

This is a one-page summary. For any live case, sentencing exercise, or legal advice the authoritative source is the Sentencing Council's own definitive guideline — including the category bands, step-by-step sentencing approach, and all statutory factors not captured here.

Open the full guideline on sentencingcouncil.org.uk

Source: Sentencing Council · Crown copyright, licensed under Open Government Licence v3.0. Summary fetched 2026-06-28. Not legal advice — see a regulated adviser for any live case.