Legislation has changed, making fines for businesses much higher

There have been significant changes to the powers of the magistrates’ courts’ to impose fines, as a result of the introduction of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO). The sections of the law in question commenced in March and the approach taken by corporate defendants to prosecutions in the magistrates’ courts will now undergo a marked shift.

The changes apply to a wide range of legislation, including commercial, company, financial services, health and safety, and environmental laws. The legislation, could, for example, impact a company selling a bladed instrument to someone under age. A pharmacy that obstructs a fire escape could also find itself in the dock. In terms of the impact on corporate defendants, companies and their directors will ultimately have to pay much more attention to regulatory offences in light of the possibility of a significantly increased fine.

Under the new legislation, the maximum fine of £5,000 will be removed. Although the Act doesn’t set out any changes to the current maximum fines of £200, £500, £1,000, or £2,500, the Secretary of State has introduced a statutory instrument to amend s37(2) of the Criminal Justice Act 1982 to increase the maximum fines on levels 1 to 4 by 400% i.e. to £800, £2,000, £4,000, and £10,000 respectively, with no maximum fine set for a level five offence but to be decided by the court. 􀀀

Stuart Ponting is a partner at international law firm DLA Piper UK LLP.