There is an increasing tendency to take both civil and criminal action against individual directors of a company rather than, or as well as, the company itself.
Criminal actions can be brought under many statutes resulting in fines or imprisonment. There are more than 200 provisions under Companies Acts alone as well as health and safety legislation, environmental protection acts and data protection laws.
Employees can bring civil actions under statutes relating to employment, race and sex discrimination and now age. Those trading with the company can bring actions against directors for losses arising from the company failing to honour contracts. Persons who suffer from any tort committed by the company can sue individual directors.
The above problems are compounded by the provisions under the Companies Act, which prevent the company expending funds to defend individual directors or to pay awards made against them.
Range:
- Directors' and Officers'
- Employment practices
- Charity Trustee liability
- Pension Trustee liability
- Credit insurance
- Fidelity and employee crime
