The UK Crime and Policing Act 2026: An Extension of Corporate Criminal Liability

When section 250 of the Crime and Policing Act 2026 (CPA 2026) comes into effect on June 29, 2026, it will significantly extend organisations’ potential exposure to corporate criminal liability.

Although responsibility for compliance matters will usually fall outside the scope of most HR and employment teams, HR should be aware of this and may need to work with compliance colleagues to ensure proper implementation of any new internal measures that impact HR policies and procedures.

The Basics

Section 250 of the CPA 2026 provides a new (and broad) test for corporate criminal liability where:

• A senior manager
• Commits any criminal offence under UK law, and
• That senior manager was “acting within the actual or apparent scope of their authority”

In such circumstances, the corporate (or partnership) will also commit the offence.

This new statutory route for corporate liability for criminal offences only applies to the actions of senior managers. This isn’t limited to directors but includes any individual who plays a significant role in:

• The making of decisions about how the whole or a substantial part of the activities of the corporate or partnership are to be managed or organised, or
• The managing or organising of the whole or a substantial part of those activities

The explanatory notes explain that this does not just include statutory directors or senior officers but also that a person may be a “senior manager” irrespective of their title, remuneration, qualifications and employment status.

For corporate liability to bite, the senior manager must have been acting within the actual or apparent scope of their authority. The explanatory notes state that this does not mean that the senior manager must have been authorised to carry out a criminal offence. It would be enough that the act was of a type that the senior manager was authorised to undertake, or that would ordinarily be undertaken by a person in that position.

Section 250 of the CPA 2026 will repeal and replace sections 196–198 of the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (ECCTA), where corporate criminal liability only attached to certain listed economic crimes committed by a senior manager within the scope of their authority.

The new provisions in the CPA 2026 are much broader as they apply to any UK criminal offence and the defences are limited to where (a) all of the conduct constituting the offence occurs outside the United Kingdom; and (b) the organisation would not commit the offence if that conduct were the organisation’s (rather than the senior manager’s).  However, certain offences regardless of where they are committed can be prosecuted against individuals or organisations who have a close connection to the UK and so this may be relevant for multinationals.

What Does this Mean for Employers?

Section 250 of the CPA 2026 significantly broadens the potential for corporate liability to include all criminal offences, and makes it easier for organisations to be prosecuted for the acts of their senior managers.

Although responsibility for compliance matters such as this will usually fall outside the scope of most HR and employment teams, HR may need to work with compliance colleagues, for example helping to:

• Conduct a risk assessment to establish: (a) who might be considered a “senior manager” under section 250; (b) the areas of the business in which those individuals have influence; and (c) any measures that could be put in place to ensure appropriate oversight of senior managers’ actions
• Provide training to all “senior managers” in relation to the extension of corporate liability and on targeted risk areas where criminal liability might arise for the business
• Review and consider staff policies to enhance an understanding of behaviour that is unacceptable to the business and ensure that the business has robust whistleblowing channels and fosters a “speak up” culture