The Regulator Health And Safety At Work Act

There are wide powers of enforcement under the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974. Often this is achieved through letters and advice, but in more serious cases enforcement may be through Improvement or Prohibition Processes and, in the most serious cases, prosecution through the Courts.

POWERS OF ENFORCEMENT

The enforcing authority will take account of the employer's general attitude to health & safety issues. If a business is a regular offender or has no effective organisation for health and safety, formal enforcement action may be needed.

An Improvement Notice may be issued if an enforcement officer thinks there is contravention of one of the relevant statutory provisions at the time of the visit or there has been such a contravention and it is likely that this will continue or be repeated.

Prohibition Notices can be issued to ensure an immediate or deferred effect. The notice can be served only if the Enforcement Officer thinks that there is or will be a risk of serious personal injury.

The Court can make an Order for the remedying of a defect and the ultimate sanction is prosecution.

In some situations, both prosecution and notice procedures may be appropriate - e.g. if a situation is so hazardous that even when a Prohibition Notice has been issued, a prosecution may also be merited.

WHEN IS A PROSECUTION LIKELY?

A prosecution would be appropriate if for example:-

There is a blatant disregard for the law; Where there appears to have been a reckless disregard for the health and safety of work people or others; Where there has been a repeated breach of legal requirements; Where, as a result of substantial legal contravention, there has been a serious accident or a case of ill health; or Where there are persistent poor standards for...