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Waste company and director held to account for death of employee
Melinka Berridge
As both the amount of regulation and the powers given to enforcement agencies continues to grow, so too do the risks facing businesses and senior leaders.
If you face an external investigation or enforcement action, whether regulatory or criminal, you will need to take prompt action and seek specialist advice and knowledge. Our experts can help to you devise effective, proactive responses to resolve your issues and protect your reputation.
REGULATORY INVESTIGATIONS AND ENFORCEMENT
Professional regulation confers many benefits; it also confers many responsibilities. As the regulatory burdens placed on directors has increased, it has also led to an upturn in their need to get the right advice and support when things go wrong:
- Disqualification proceedings
- Regulatory investigations
- Allegations of poor practice or misconduct
- Disciplinary and fitness to practice investigations
For more details, please read our Regulatory Advice for Professionals page.
Enforcement and criminal investigations
With power comes responsibility. There are many ways in which a director can be found personally liable for criminal offences committed in connection with their position. In some circumstances, a director may also face prosecution where the company itself, or someone associated with it, commits an offence. The consequences can be serious, and include substantial fines, prison sentences, disqualification, other court orders, and personal liability for company debts.
We provide robust, reassuring and discreet advice to company directors risking or facing investigation or prosecution in the UK, including in relation to:
- Internal company investigations, for example where there are suspicions of fraud, bribery, money laundering, facilitation of tax evasion, sexual misconduct, cross-border issues or data protection breaches
- Investigation and prosecution by the Serious Fraud Office, City of London Police, Crown Prosecution Service, HM Revenue and Customs, Insolvency Service, Health and Safety Executive, Environment Agency, Companies House, and Competition and Markets Authority
- Regulatory interventions from agencies such as the Financial Conduct Authority, Gambling Commission and Ofcom
- Pre- and post-charge advice, including representations to the police
- Dawn raids and searches and seizures on company or residential premises
- Arrest, interviews under caution and advice at the police station
- Criminal court proceedings
- Companies Act offences and investigations
- Corporate manslaughter, environmental and health and safety offences (including fire and food safety)
- Compliance with the Competition Act 1998, Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, Fraud Act 2006, Bribery Act 2010, Modern Slavery Act 2015 and Criminal Finances Act 2017
For more details, please read our Criminal Litigation page.
Protecting reputations
If you have been accused of something, either in your professional or personal capacity, it is critical to assess the problems that will arise quickly and strategically.
Whatever the allegations or dispute may be, when you are in the middle it can be hard to know how to respond while the investigators or regulators seek to establish cause and to apportion blame. Our team of reputational lawyers will be able to help.
Our services include:
- Defamation and harassment
- Privacy law
- Libel
- Media management
- Blackmail and extortion
For more details, please read our Protecting Your Reputation page.
WHAT CLIENTS AND DIRECTORIES HAVE SAID
They provide really good support in handling an investigation and managing all the different moving parts. I absolutely recommend them."
Chambers and Partners, Crisis & Risk Management, 2024
I like Kingsley Napley for the way they can pull together partners from various areas and coordinate big projects well. They know how to work collaboratively to create a symbiotic relationship."
Chambers and Partners, Crisis & Risk Management, 2024
Helen Morris
Dispute Resolution
Partner
Nicola Finnerty
Criminal Litigation
White Collar and Financial Crime
Financial Services
Partner
Alun Milford
Criminal Litigation
Partner
Fiona Simpson (Français)
Dispute Resolution
Partner
Fiona Simpson
Dispute Resolution
Partner
Adrian Crawford
Employment
Senior executives, hires and terminations
Financial Services
Partner
Ilda de Sousa
Immigration
Partner
Emily Carter
Public Law
GDPR and Data Protection
Public Inquiries and Inquests
Partner
Hannah Eales
Regulatory
Partner
Julie Matheson
Regulatory
Partner
Julie Norris
Regulatory
Partner
Luke Gregory
Corporate, Commercial & Finance
Restructuring and Insolvency
Associate