"Two Laing O’Rourke companies have been fined a total of £3.8m after a worker was crushed to death at its concrete products factory in Worksop, Nottinghamshire"

http://www.constructionenquirer.com/2017/10/18/orourke-firms-fined-3-8m-after-concrete-factory-death/

Agreed, huge fine which may help focus people's minds. That said, using money as a sanction is not always such an effective form of punishment. In some cases the defendant is unable to pay a substantive amount and this is where I would like to see more use of a custodial sentence as an alternative. 

Originally Posted by: A Kurdziel

Originally Posted by: RayRapp

Agreed, huge fine which may help focus people's minds. That said, using money as a sanction is not always such an effective form of punishment. In some cases the defendant is unable to pay a substantive amount and this is where I would like to see more use of a custodial sentence as an alternative. 

It is the company that paid the fine. You cannot imprison a company and as we know it is difficult sometimes to establish which individual was responsible. In smaller businesses the boss does get caught out but in larger operations the blame is spread out and if you really can’t imprison a whole tier of management. (although I rather like the idea of doing that sometimes)  

Perhaps I should have been clearer, I am referring to smaller companies i.e. one man band outfits, where they often do not have the resources for a substantive fine. Yet they still kill people. Giving them a paltry fine seems to be incongruous to the principles of justice.