Inspecting officers can enter a premises without giving notice – although they do on occasion write or telephone to arrange a convenient appointment time and date. They are required to show you their Warrant Card on request and you should not be afraid to ask to see it. However:
DO NOT obstruct an inspector in the carrying out of their duties – it is a criminal offence. and can result in the Police being called.
Inspecting officers can obtain information, take statements from people they believe can help in an investigation and inspect and copy documents. Inspectors can take photographs of your premises or equipment and remove samples.
They can give informal advice, formal written advice, serve enforcement notices, charge you a fee under the Fees for Intervention (FFI) process, and prosecute either the company or individuals within them.
What are enforcement notices?
Where an identified breach of the law is relatively minor, the inspector may verbally tell the employer (or ‘duty holder(s)’) what to do to comply with the law. Where, however, the breach is not minor, the inspector may issue one or more formal notices as below:
- Notification of contravention – Where, in the opinion of the inspecting officer, a material breach has been identified and they intend, through an issued document or letter, to recover costs under the Fee for Intervention (FFI) scheme;
- Improvement Notice – Where the breach is more serious, an improvement notice (IN) tells the duty holder to do something to comply with the law. The inspector will normally discuss it and, if possible, resolve points of difference before serving it. The notice will say what needs to be done, why, and by when. Time given will be at least 21 days. This can be appealed. Inspectors can take legal action i.e. prosecute, if the notice is not complied with within the specified time limit.
- Prohibition Notice – Where a work activity involves or a person provides, a risk of serious personal injury, a prohibition notice (PN) may be served which prohibits the activity, or the person from carrying out that activity immediately or (more rarely), a deferred notice can be issued which comes into force after a specified time period. The activity prohibited cannot be resumed until remedial action has been taken and an inspector is satisfied the risk has been removed, usually through re-inspection. The notice will explain why the action is necessary and the duty holder will be told in writing about the right to appeal.
What is the Fee for Intervention/cost recovery?
A Fee for Intervention (FFI) cost recovery scheme applies where the HSE is the enforcing authority and puts a duty on the HSE to recover its costs from duty holders who are found to be in material breach of health and safety law.
A material breach is where the duty holder has broken a health and safety law and the inspector judges this is serious enough for them to send notification in writing. This will either be by a notification of contravention, an improvement or prohibition notice (see above), or a prosecution.
The fee is based on the amount of time – an hourly rate – that the inspector has had to spend identifying the breach, helping you to put it right, investigating and taking enforcement action and is charged in 10-minute segments and invoiced monthly. At the time of this notice being issued the hourly rate was (from 1st April 2025) £183.00 per hour or £30.50 for every 10 minutes. What the fee includes is:
- Time at the business or workplace;
- Time spent preparing reports;
- Time spent getting specialist advice;
- Time spent talking to you after the visit;
- Time spent talking to your workers.
The fee can vary depending on:
- How long the original visit was;
- Time spent helping you put things right
- Time it took to investigate your case
- Time spent on taking action against you
Duty holders who comply with the law, or where a breach is not “material” (i.e., where verbal advice was all that was needed to be given), will not be asked to pay for any work that HSE has done with them.
To avoid causing harm, having accidents and facing prosecution,
ensure your business complies with health and safety law in 2025, by
- Conducting risk assessments as and when required (prior to undertaking activities).
- Providing training regarding the risks involved and how to manage them.
- Supervising risk management, as necessary, until competence is demonstrated.
- Formally reviewing risk assessments and associated safe systems of work, regularly.
- Updating training provided (toolbox talks, in-house or external formal training).
- Keeping/updating records of all the above processes.
If this newsletter has given you cause for concern, or if you need help with another health and safety matter, then please do not hesitate to contact us.