What has happened? 

UK Athletics and the former head of sport for a Paralympic event are facing manslaughter charges following the death of the United Arab Emirates Paralympian, Abdullah Hayayei. 

A metal throwing cage fell on Hayayei while he was shot-put training at Newham Leisure Centre in preparation for the 2017 World Para-athletics Championships in London.

Following an investigation lasting over seven years, the Crown Prosecution Service has recently authorised the following charges:

• Against UK Athletics (the governing body for track and field sports in the UK): Corporate manslaughter and a health and safety offence.
• Against Keith Davies (the former head of sport for the London Championships): Gross negligence manslaughter and a health and safety offence.

Pleas were not entered at the hearing in Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 31 January 2025, but another hearing was scheduled at the Old Bailey for February 2025.

Cases of corporate and gross negligence manslaughter are relatively rare. The trend has been for smaller organisations to be prosecuted for corporate manslaughter and so it is unusual for an organisation the size of UK Athletics, who had revenue of £16.4m for the year ending 2024[1], to face such a charge. In accordance with the latest Sentencing Council guidelines for corporate manslaughter, it would be considered a medium-sized organisation and if guilty could potentially be facing a fine in the region of £1.2-£7.5 million. 

What does this mean for other organisations and senior management? 

This is a timely reminder to both organisations and those holding senior management positions that health and safety incidents can result in lengthy and complex investigations, with serious charges against not only an organisation but individuals as well; alleged failings by an individual do not necessarily offer a corporate protection from criminal charges, and vice versa.

This was shown in the case of two workers who drowned whilst cleaning a tanker of pig feed at a food waste company in 2016. The company was found guilty of corporate manslaughter and two senior managers were also imprisoned. These sentences were only passed in 2022, showing the length of time complex health and safety investigations can take.

You may have noticed that manslaughter charges against UK Athletics and Keith Davies have been brought alongside health and safety offences; this is not surprising given the duties under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act. This happened recently where similar charges were brought following the deaths of four employees at the Bosley Mill explosion. The manslaughter charges were eventually dropped for lack of evidence, but the company and managing director were found guilty of health and safety offences.

If you have any questions relating to these offences, please contact Guy Bastable, Charlotte Whitaker or Ben Davies, or any other member in our Corporate Crime and Regulatory Investigations team for assistance.

This article was written by Jonathan Nicoll.

[1] According to the latest published accounts on Companies House.