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If your business has been investigated by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and been found to have breached the law, they may choose to prosecute you. This is usually in relation to a specific incident when someone was injured in your workplace. If the subsequent investigation highlights a significant breach of the health and safety regulations, there are a number of enforcement measures that can be taken against you by HSE. These include:
If HSE choose to prosecute you for failing to meet your health and safety obligations it is important that you take expert legal advice as quickly as possible to help protect your position. HSE prosecutions can have serious implications for businesses, both financially and legally.
If your business is found to have seriously breached health and safety regulations, and certain criteria is met under current law, it might be the case that a HSE criminal prosecution follows.
If you are told that HSE is pursuing a prosecution, they believe that they have the necessary evidence to secure a conviction. However, it will be important to have a lawyer review the evidence and advise you regarding your options. Allegations can be challenged by an experienced HSE prosecutions defence solicitor.
Your health and safety prosecutions lawyer will look at every aspect of the case and work on your behalf to achieve the best possible outcome for you and your business. If there is no way to avoid court proceedings, your HSE prosecution defence lawyer will support you at every stage of the process.
If you are found guilty of breaching health and safety law, you can be fined and/or be imprisoned. The penalty given will depend on the specific circumstances involved in your case.
If you are convicted of a serious breach of health and safety law, you are likely to receive a fine. The amount of the fine will be determined by the judge who ruled on your case, but there is no maximum limit for this. This means that the fine could be anywhere from a few hundred pounds upwards and it is not unheard of for businesses to receive HSE prosecution fines of hundreds of thousands if the breach of law is considered to be very serious and to have put people at significant risk.
It is really important for any business that is faced with a HSE prosecution to have access to expert legal advice to help them get the best possible outcome from the case. Our experienced team can help. Get in touch today to find out more, by calling 0161 696 6250.
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