When An Inspector Calls
I have vivid recollections of the times during my career that I encountered HSE inspectors following incidents and the fear that they generated among management teams throughout the organisations.
I suppose this fear was brought on by the powers that inspectors wield in that like police officers, they are usually visiting an organisation to review what has happened and to collect evidence that may be used in a court of law.
For the incidents I was involved with, fortunately, no prosecutions were brought so I was never summoned to court to give evidence which I would like to think was due to the good health and safety management systems in those organisations.
But then again although the injuries were significant, they were not life threatening and the inspectors concluded there was an element of ‘contributory negligence’ from the injured parties.
That said the cost in management time resulting from these incidents must have been huge and fast forward to the present day where ‘Fees For Intervention (FFI)’, can be levied and the costs would run into tens of thousands of pounds.
Health & Safety Enforcement
Health and safety inspectors in the United Kingdom play a critical role in ensuring that workplaces are safe and healthy for employees, visitors, and the public. These inspectors are typically employed by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) or Local Authorities where they sometimes have a job title ‘Environmental Health Officers’.
Both have very similar powers with HSE inspectors regulating high risk industrial businesses such as factories or construction sites, while their Local Authority counterparts regulate low risk businesses such as offices and retail outlets.
Their primary responsibilities include:
Inspections: Conducting regular un-announced inspections of workplaces to assess their compliance with health and safety legislation.
Enforcement: Enforcing health and safety legislation with the power to issue improvement notices or prohibition notices if they identify serious safety breaches.
An improvement notice requires the employer to rectify a violation within a specified timeframe, while a prohibition notice can stop certain activities or operations until safety concerns are addressed.
Investigations: Investigating accidents, incidents, and complaints related to workplace health and safety.
This involves collecting evidence, interviewing witnesses, and compiling reports to determine the cause of incidents and whether any legal action is necessary. This may also include assisting in emergency response situations, such as chemical spills or workplace accidents, to ensure that appropriate safety measures are taken.
Education and Guidance: Providing guidance and advice to employers, employees, and other stakeholders on how to comply with health and safety legislation. Inspectors may offer recommendations and resources to help improve workplace safety.
Prosecutions: Initiating legal proceedings against individuals or organisations that fail to comply with health and safety laws. This can lead to fines or, in severe cases, imprisonment.
Promotion of Health and Safety: Promoting a culture of health and safety in the workplace by raising awareness, providing training, and disseminating information about best practices.
Research and Data Collection: Collecting data on workplace accidents, illnesses, and trends to inform Government policy development and regulatory changes.
Whilst most of the above activities are funded by taxes, in 2012 the ‘The Health and Safety (Fees) Regulations’, abbreviated to FFI, were introduced so that costs could be billed back to employers where enforcement action was necessary with the current rates set at £166 per hour.
What to Expect
As outlined above an inspection may be due to an incident in your workplace or could be just part of a campaign targeting the most serious risks or workplaces.
Inspections can also be due to complaints received from the public or employees which is why it’s important to engage with these groups and give them platforms to raise concerns. The inspector does not need to make an appointment and in fact they carry a ‘warrant card’ as a police officer does which not only proves their identity, but also gives them the legal right to enter your premises.
Dependant on the circumstances for the visit, inspectors will want to speak to relevant people, for example managers, supervisors, workers and employee representatives. They may also want to observe a sample of workplace activities, conditions and practices and check whether risk controls are effective or if they consider there are any breaches of the law.
Finally, they will want to assess relevant documents that should be kept proving compliance such as maintenance records, training records, incident reporting, statutory inspection records or risk assessments. Arinite Factsheet 040 (H&S Compliance) is a useful resource that can help you identify the main legal requirements to assess your compliance level.
Enforcement
If they do find there is a breach of the law or an activity poses a serious and significant threat to safety of workers or the public, they may issue an enforcement notice (prohibition or improvement), as explained above.
In the most serious cases management may be asked to give a statement under ‘caution’ which can then be used as evidence if a case goes to a criminal court.
You must always engage with a health & safety competent person in the event you receive an enforcement notice, Arinite could be one of your competent health and safety persons, for some reading this article, but if you don’t have a H&S competent person, then engaging with someone who has specialist health and safety legal knowledge is a must especially if you consider that the bill (FFI) or prosecutions could rack up significant costs.
Summary
HSE do publish statistics for their enforcement activities which show where they have targeted their resources, although these statistics don’t include the Local Authority enforcement activities.
Organisations doing their best to manage health and safety should have nothing to fear if an HSE inspector visits their organisation. Doing your best is likely to mean that you have appointed a H&S competent person(s) and are implementing their advice at a management level.
Contact us
Arinite clients worldwide appreciate we provide practical, no-nonsense advice about what
you need to do to establish and maintain a safe and healthy working environment.
Our team of health and safety consultants take pride in keeping health and safety simple.
If you need to call upon our expert assistance, or just for an informal chat, please call our
office +44 207 947 9581, or type an enquiry to: https://www.arinite.com/contact-us/.
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