Crime & Policing Act 2026: What Every Health & Safety Leader In High Risk Industries Needs To Know
The introduction of Section 250 of the Crime and Policing Act 2026 represents one of the most significant changes to corporate criminal liability in recent years. For organisations operating in telecoms, utilities, infrastructure and other high-risk sectors, it’s a development that deserves the attention of every Director, Senior Manager and Health & Safety professional.
Health & Safety legislation has always placed responsibilities on employers and individuals. However, the Crime and Policing Act 2026 broadens the circumstances in which organisations themselves can face criminal liability, making strong governance and leadership more important than ever.
A Significant Shift In Corporate Accountability
Section 250, which came into force on the 29th June 2026, introduces a new principle of corporate criminal attribution. In simple terms, if a senior manager commits a criminal offence while acting within the scope of their authority, the organisation itself may also be held criminally liable.
This represents a substantial departure from previous legislation.
Historically, prosecutors often had to prove that the individual responsible was effectively the “directing mind and will” of the organisation, usually a board-level executive. That was often difficult in large organisations where operational decisions are made several layers below the executive team.
The new legislation changes that.
Responsibility now extends to individuals who exercise significant management responsibility, even if they are not company directors.
For industries where operational decisions are made daily on live projects, this is a considerable development.
Who Is Considered A Senior Manager
Many organisations may assume this legislation only affects company directors.
That isn’t the case.
The Act adopts a functional definition rather than relying on job titles. Senior Managers may include:
- Directors
- Heads of Department
- Operations Managers
- Project Managers
- Regional Managers
- Anyone responsible for organising or directing a substantial part of the business
For telecoms and utilities organisations, that could include those managing network deployment, civils operations, maintenance programmes or contractor delivery.
Why This Matters For Health & Safety
The legislation isn’t limited to financial crime.
Section 250 can apply across a broad range of criminal offences, including environmental breaches, data protection offences, modern slavery and, importantly, health and safety offences.
Examples relevant to high-risk industries include:
- Falls from height
- Excavation incidents
- Vehicle collisions
- Electrocutions
- Plant and machinery incidents
- Struck-by incidents
- Unsafe lifting operations
Where investigators conclude that management decisions contributed to the event, the organisation could face additional criminal exposure alongside any existing Health and Safety at Work Act prosecution.
The "Reasonably Practicable" Defence Isn't The Whole Story
Health & Safety professionals are familiar with the concept of doing everything that is “reasonably practicable.”
Policies, risk assessments, competence, supervision, inspections and audits all help demonstrate compliance under existing health and safety legislation.
However, Section 250 introduces a different consideration.
The document highlights that the new provision does not contain a separate defence simply because appropriate procedures existed. In other words, having robust systems alone may not prevent organisational liability if a senior manager’s criminal conduct is established.
That doesn’t make good management systems less valuable.
Instead, it places greater emphasis on ensuring those systems are genuinely embedded, followed consistently and supported by effective leadership behaviours.
What Should Organisations Be Doing?
Rather than viewing the legislation as another compliance exercise, organisations should see it as an opportunity to strengthen governance.
Key areas to review include:
- Clearly defined responsibilities for senior leaders
- Robust decision-making processes
- Effective contractor management
- Clear escalation routes for safety concerns
- Leadership training and competency
- Strong assurance through audits and inspections
- Performance reporting at executive level
- Thorough incident investigations and learning
Many organisations already have these elements in place. The challenge is ensuring they operate effectively in practice rather than simply existing on paper.
Leadership Culture Has Never Been More Important
One of the recurring themes within the Act is decision-making.
The examples cited include knowingly allowing unsafe working practices to continue, ignoring repeated safety concerns, prioritising production over safety and authorising work without appropriate planning or controls.
These are not failures of frontline workers.
They are failures of leadership.
This reinforces something Health & Safety professionals have been advocating for years: positive safety culture starts with senior leadership.
When leaders visibly prioritise safe delivery, allocate sufficient resources, encourage reporting and support operational teams, organisations are far better placed to reduce risk before incidents occur.
Looking Ahead
As with any new legislation, its practical impact will become clearer as case law develops over the coming years. Until then, organisations should avoid complacency.
For businesses operating in telecoms, utilities, construction and other high-risk sectors, now is the ideal time to review governance arrangements, leadership accountability and the effectiveness of existing safety management systems.
At Pro Safety Management, we work with organisations to strengthen governance, undertake independent Health & Safety gap analyses, review management systems, develop senior leadership capability and ensure that safety is embedded into operational decision-making, not simply documented for compliance.
Because in today’s regulatory environment, effective Health & Safety leadership is no longer just about preventing accidents. It’s about protecting your people, your business and those responsible for leading it.
About Pro Safety Management
We are a Specialist Telecoms Health and Safety Consultancy with over 40+ years experience. Serving some of the global leading telecommunication companies, we provide specialist and strategic health and safety management ensuring operational standards at the highest level.
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