In February 2016, the Health and Safety Executive announced that a series of changes had been made to health and safety law in the workplace. The new rules are mainly directed at business owners who fail to enforce the applicable health and safety standards in the workplace, and therefore have the objective of ensuring compliance across the board. In this post we take a look at the ins and outs of the new rules and at how business owners can ensure they comply with them and avoid penalties.

What do the recent HSE changes entail?

The main thing to note about the recent changes made to health and safety law is that offences and lack of compliance will now attract tougher fines. The objective is to offer higher protection levels to both employees and the general public, while ensuring that employers take their duty of care more seriously and that business owners use a consistent approach to risk management. Under the new rules, if a business is found guilty of corporate manslaughter, it can be fined with up to £20 million, whereas other serious (but not fatal) offences can attract fines of up to £10 million. Lack of compliance resulting in bodily harm can also be punished with imprisonment, and in some cases even continued exposure to risk could result in a prison sentence, irrespective of whether bodily harm was caused or not. Prison terms range between 26 weeks and 2 years depending on how the offence is categorised.

Offences related to food safety and hygiene will be punished with tougher fines too, starting at £100 and going up to £3 million. This type of offences will also be triable and could result in prison terms of up to 2 years. It has also been suggested that heavier fines (of up to £100 million) could be applied to large companies who fail to comply and whose annual turnover exceeds £50 million.

The HSE Sentencing Council also announced that the seriousness of an offence (and therefore the fines involved) would be calculated following a 9-step approach, which would take into consideration issues like the degree of culpability and the likelihood of harm being caused. It is also important to note that although the new sentencing rules came into force on 1st February 2016, they will be applied retroactively. This means that the new rules will also apply to any offences committed prior to 1st February and that have not been sentenced yet.

For detailed information about the changes made to corporate health and safety law, please download the guide published by the Sentencing Council, which is available at https://www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/HS-offences-definitive-guideline-FINAL-web.pdf. This is a 50-page document.

Were the changes necessary?

The recently stepped up fines are considered by many the most significant changes made to health and safety law enforcement since the 1974 Health and Safety Act came into force. Over the past few years, a number of cases involving a breach of the employer’s duty of care have received widespread media attention, and at the same time, they have highlighted the fact that tougher fines were needed. This is the case of the rulings against companies like UK Power Networks Ltd. National Grid Gas, and Falcon Crane Hire, whose lack of compliance resulted in death and severe bodily harm. In all cases, the courts found that the companies involved could have prevented the fatalities, which confirms that there was a need for tougher enforcement guidelines.

How can I ensure compliance?
To ensure full compliance, the Health & Safety Executive recommends taking a proactive approach to risk management in the workplace. This involves making a conscious effort to anticipate the risks and hazards that staff, visitors, and clients could be faced with in different areas of your business premises. It is also important to make sure that regular assessments are carried out, since failure to do so could fall under the “deliberate offence” category as outlined in the 9-step approach, which attracts the highest fines and even custodial sentences.

Although the risks vary from workplace to workplace, there are a few tools that can be used by all business owners and managers to make risk monitoring and compliance easier. For example, the Health and Safety Executive offers several online risk assessment tools. You can also use the HSE site to find health and safety policy templates, checklists, and examples of completed risk assessments for shops, offices, industrial buildings, etc. By taking a proactive approach to health and safety compliance, business owners can support the efforts made by legislators in making workplaces healthier, safer, and more prosperous.

Sources:

http://www.officeteam.co.uk/2016/02/04/tougher-fines-for-health-and-safety-offences-is-your-business-compliant/
http://www.shponline.co.uk/the-most-dramatic-change-in-health-and-safety-enforcement-since-1974/
https://www.wirehouse-es.com/2016/02/health-and-safety-legislation-updates-2016/