Complying with health and safety laws should already be a high priority for your business.
Failure to implement a robust health and safety policy can land you in big trouble with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and potential personal injury , but now your business can also be charged a ‘fee’ of £124 per hour for investigation work undertaken by the HSE.
This is called a Fee For Intervention (FFI) and can apply even if no enforcement action is taken is taken by the HSE.
What Is The Fee For Intervention (FFI)?
In recent years the HSE has faced huge public funding cuts, hence the new ‘Fee for Intervention’ was introduced on 1st October 2012 as a cost-recovery tool to help the HSE recoup its costs from the private sector.
The FFI is charged whenever inspectors carry out investigations of incidents and complaints, and find that a ‘material breach’ of health and safety law has occurred. A material breach would obviously include, for example, a failure to provide guards or effective devices to prevent access to dangerous parts of machinery, but it could also be a much less obvious contravention of health and safety legislation. Importantly, the ‘material breach’ does not have to lead to a prosecution for a FFI to apply.
HSE fees will continue to rack up from the very start of an investigation, until the issue has been remedied to their satisfaction. This includes things like time spent visiting your site, researching and preparing reports and follow-up work to ensure compliance; including subsequent visits, telephone calls, emails etc all charged at the set rate of £124 per hour.
The HSE is Going for Gold
Depending on the depth and complexity of the investigation, these costs can easily escalate into substantial figures and the HSE are not being shy about applying their controversial new powers. In the first two months of the fee being introduced, the HSE issued 1,418 invoices totalling £727,644, and these figures are likely to increase as inspectors get more confident with the new charging rules.
If you feel that your business has been unfairly subjected to a ‘material breach’ notice, it is important to be aware that if you object to an invoice, the HSE can even charge you for the time they spend dealing with your objection, so the right advice is vital.
Maintaining Compliance With Health and Safety
It is now more important than ever to ensure that your business is fully compliant with health and safety laws and has in place all necessary additional safeguards to reduce the risk of an investigation as well as a strong strategy for dealing with investigations if the HSE does get in touch. At £124 per hour, it makes sense to try and keep the work of the HSE inspector to a minimum.
Our specialist Health and Safety lawyers can advise on all aspects of health and safety, from putting in place those important policies to advising on the best strategy if you are subject to an investigation. Contact Julie Goulbourne by telephone 01616 966 229 or email jgo@stephensons.co.uk today for more information.