As 2026 gets underway, the courts are reinforcing the accountability of senior and mid-level management in UK businesses, with a clear focus on making workplaces safer and healthier for employees.
2025 Recap
In 2025, 150 court cases conducted saw businesses paid out a total of £37.65 million in fines and £1.06 million in court costs. 4 custodial sentences were issued, one of which was for 10 years. Numerous suspended sentences were issued, totalling 11.2 years.
January Prosecutions
In January, a total of 19 prosecutions have cost organisations and individuals a total of £2,570,833 in fines, £127,652.25 in court costs, and 35 months in suspended prison sentences.
Affected businesses also incur reputational harm, costs associated with site closures, and productivity losses resulting from company time diverted to investigations.
Headlines from the prosecutions include:
- An unregistered gas fitter – sentenced to 15 months, suspended for 12 months
- A construction company and an individual director – both fined – failure to comply with prohibition and improvement notices
- A site manager – fined – obstructing HSE inspectors
- A manufacturer – fined – allowing use of unguarded machinery, resulting in a fatality
- A sole trader – suspended sentence – worker fell through an unprotected floor opening, no risk assessment was conducted prior to starting work activities
- A holiday camp provider – a near-drowning of a three-year-old
Click here to view more details on the prosecutions from the HSE.
Take Action
Every director, manager, supervisor, and employee has a legal and moral responsibility to understand their work, ensure it is done safely, and manage any risks that cannot be eliminated by reducing them to the lowest possible level. At Kingfisher, we are here to guide you in creating and managing these processes, but real improvement only happens when business managers and leaders take responsibility and act.
Some steps to consider:
- Review the company’s health and safety management and policies.
- Check risk assessments are in place, up to date, and suitable for the task in hand.
- Review and, if necessary, update safe working procedures or safe systems of work.
- Review training requirements.
- Review fire safety protocols.
- Encourage staff to remain alert and report any issues or concerns.
- Contact us if you need any assistance – we are always here to help.