169. Defence for offence by employer

If an employee commits an offence under this Part, his or her employer is taken to have committed the same offence.

An employer may be proceeded against and convicted under a provision in this Part pursuant to this section whether or not the employee has been proceeded against or been convicted under that provision.

In proceedings against an employer by virtue of subsection (1) for an offence under this Part, it is a defence for the employer who is charged to prove, on a balance of probabilities, that the employer could not, by the exercise of due diligence, have prevented the commission of the offence.