Penalties — notices and fines

The Health and Safety at Work Act (HSWA) provides for three main systems of enforcement. These are:

• improvement notices;

• prohibition notices; and

• fines or imprisonment.

When an improvement notice is served, the employer must take action to put things right within a specified time. If the employer fails to comply, a prohibition notice may be issued, stopping the operation that is causing the hazard.

Inspectors have the power to issue an immediate prohibition notice, stopping an operation if there is a risk of immediate danger. A deferred prohibition notice may also be issued. Appeals against these notices must be made to an employment tribunal and can lead to a stay (delay) of execution of an improvement notice. There can be no delay in implementing a prohibition notice if the inspector believes that the risk of serious personal injury is imminent.

Judges can impose fines which consume or exceed company profits, even in cases where an employer has not been found to have deliberately cut corners to make a profit (R v FJ Chalcroft Construction Ltd [2008] EWCA Crim 770).

Fines are governed by the Health and Safety Offences Act 2008. There is a maximum fine of £20,000 for nearly all summary offences that are dealt with in a Magistrates Court, with unlimited fines in higher Courts. Nearly all offences can be punished by imprisonment — up to 12 months in Magistrates Courts and two years in the Crown Court. Unions have long called for higher penalties for health and safety offences.

The latest statistics show that the HSE prosecuted 584 cases, with a conviction secured in 537 cases (a rate of 92%). It prosecuted 969 offences of health and safety, resulting in 780 convictions (a rate of 80%). Those found guilty of health and safety offences received fines totalling £15.6 million, an average penalty of £20,056 per offence. This is a decrease on the previous year when convicted organisations received fines totalling £18.6 million. This gives average penalties on conviction of £35,938 per prosecuted breach.

Local authorities prosecuted 96 cases, with a conviction secured in 93 cases, prosecuting 196 offences, resulting in 188 convictions (a rate of 96%). Those found guilty of health and safety offences received fines totalling £1.3 million, an average penalty of £6,891 per offence. The number of local authority prosecutions for breaches of health and safety law has fallen by 26% from the previous year.