How to use these sentencing guidelines

To find an offence-specific guideline, you can do any of the following:

  • enter the name of the offence in the box below,
  • use the offence-type drop-down list to select a related group of offences such as sexual offences or public order offences,
  • search for keywords, eg bribery, knives, sex,
  • enter the name of the relevant Act and/or section, eg Explosive Substances Act 1883, Public Order Act, section 5, or
  • scroll down the A to Z list of offences (guidelines not yet in effect are listed in purple).

To find an overarching guideline:

  • on this page, click on the heading Overarching Guidelines,
  • on any page, click the icon in the left-hand menu.

Right click to open a guideline in a new tab.

To print or create a temporary pdf of any guideline:

  • with the page open, click on , then select your printer or "Adobe PDF" to create a pdf. To include hidden content, open drop-down box before printing. Do not retain these copies. Only the online version of a guideline is guaranteed to be up to date.

  • Corporate manslaughter

    Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007, s.1
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  • Individuals: Breach of duty of employer towards employees and non-employees/ Breach of duty of self-employed to others/ Breach of duty of employees at work/ Breach of Health and Safety regulations/ Secondary liability

    Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 (section 33(1)(a) for breaches of sections 2, 3 and 7, Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 (section 33(1)(c)), Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 (sections 36 and 37(1) for breaches of sections 2 and 3 and section 33(1)(c)
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  • Individuals: Breach of food safety and food hygiene regulations

    Food Hygiene (Wales) Regulations 2006 (regulation 17(1)), Food Safety and Hygiene (England) Regulations 2013 (regulation 19(1)), The General Food Regulations 2004 (regulation 4)
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  • Organisations: Breach of duty of employer towards employees and non-employees/ Breach of duty of self-employed to others/ Breach of Health and Safety regulations

    Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 (section 33(1)(a) for breaches of sections 2 and 3), Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 (section 33(1)(c))
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  • Organisations: Breach of food safety and food hygiene regulations

    Food Hygiene (Wales) Regulations 2006 (regulation 17(1)), Food Safety and Hygiene (England) Regulations 2013 (regulation 19(1)), The General Food Regulations 2004 (regulation 4)
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