Health and Safety law is enforced by inspectors from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) or by Environmental Health Inspectors from your particular local authority. These inspectors have the right to enter any place of work without any notice being given, although notice may be given where the inspector feels it is appropriate. During such a visit the inspector will expect to view all areas of the workplace and the workplace activities involved. As well as looking at workplace activities the inspector will also check on your management of health and safety and will check that you are complying with all aspects of recent safety law.

The inspector can also offer you guidance and advice to help you. The inspector is also within his/her rights to talk to employees and their representatives on matters concerning Health and Safety, also to take photographs and samples where the need arises. If the inspector discovers major safety problems improvement notices and further actions can be taken to ensure immediate compliance.

If breaches of health and safety law are identified the inspector will then decide on what action to take. That action is dependant on the specific nature of the breach, and will be based on the Health and Safety Commission's (HSC) enforcements policy. The inspector should then provide employees with information on any action taken. There are various ways in which the enforcement action can be dealt with concerning breaches of the law the most common are:

Informal    Where a breach of the law is relatively minor, the inspector may tell the duty holder, for example the employer or contractor, what they have to do to comply with the law, and explain why. The inspector can if asked also confirm in writing any advice given distinguishing legal requirements from best practice advice.

 

Improvement notice    Where the breach of safety law is more serious, the inspector may issue an improvement notice to tell the duty holder to do something to comply with the law. The inspector will discuss the improvement notice and where possible, resolve points of difference before serving it. The notice will tell the duty holder what needs to be done and why, It will also give a deadline date for the breach to be completed by. This deadline date for remedial action will be at least 21 days, to allow the duty holder time to appeal to an industrial tribunal if the so wish. The Inspector can take further legal action if a notice is not complied with within the specified time period.

 

Prohibition notice    In cases of severe breaches of health and safety law where there may be a risk of serious personal injury, the inspector may find it necessary to serve a prohibition notice which will prohibit the activity immediately or after a given time period, the activity will not be allowed to recommence until remedial action is taken, the notice will explain why the action is necessary. The duty holder will be told in writing about the right of appeal to an industrial tribunal.

 

Prosecution    The inspector may in some cases consider that it also necessary to initiate a prosecution. The decision on whether to prosecute are informed by the principles in HSC's Enforcement Policy Statement. Health and safety law gives the courts considerable scope for punishing offenders and deterring others (See prosecutions and fines page) For example, a failure to comply with an improvement or prohibition notice, or a court remedy order carries a fine of up to £20,000 or six months imprisonment, or both! Unlimited fines and in some cases imprisonment can be imposed by higher courts.

extracts from HSC14 used with thanks