Health and safety in the workplace and HSE prosecutions

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Health and safety in the workplace is an issue that is often at the forefront of employers’ minds. In this post we’re going to take a brief look at what health and safety legislation an employer has to comply with and the consequences of failing to comply with this legislation. In doing so we’ll examine the following:

1. What health and safety legislation does an employer have to comply with?
2. What are the consequences if an employer fails to uphold health and safety standards?
3. What are the potential consequences of an HSE investigation?
4. What should you do if you’re accused of breaching health and safety standards?

What health and safety legislation does an employer have to comply with?

There is a plethora of health and safety legislation that an employer has to comply with. This includes (among others):

• The Health and Safety At Work etc Act 1974
• The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999
• The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998

These are the “broad” pieces of legislation that an employer must comply with to avoid risks to health and safety in the workplace. There are also specific regulations that apply to smoking in the workplace, working with gas, working with electricity, working at height, absestos in the workplace, and emergency procedures (among others).

What should you do if you’re accused of breaching health and safety standards?

If you’re accused of failing to take reasonably practicable steps to comply with health and safety standards in the workplace then you should take advice from a solicitor who specialises in regulatory work or health and safety in the workplace (and potentially a solicitor that can offer you employment law advice or advice on the potential consequences of a personal injury claim). You need to establish your legal position quickly as being accused of failing to uphold health and safety standards is a particularly serious issue.

What are the consequences if an employer fails to uphold health and safety standards?

There are both civil and criminal consequences to an unreasonable failure to uphold health and safety standards in the workplace if it leads (or even if it doesn’t lead to) injury or death to an employee. These consequences are as follows:

Civil consequences

1. A claim by the employee for breach of statutory duty by the employer’s failure to uphold health and safety standards
2. A claim for negligence by the employer against the employer (that the employer failed to uphold it’s duty to prevent harm to the employer in the workplace, causing the employee loss)

Criminal consequences

1. A prosecution of the business by the Health and Safety Executive under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974
2. A prosecution of the business by the Criminal Prosecution Service for corporate manslaughter (if an employee is killed as a result of a gross breach of the employer’s duty of care
3. Prosecution of individual managers and directors for breaching the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 or for manslaughter

What are the potential consequences of an HSE investigation?

The potential consequences of a Health and Safety Executive investigation are that the employer is found guilty of a breach of health and safety legislation. This frequently leads to a substantial fine being imposed and the employer being ordered to pay the costs of the Health and Safety Executive for the investigation and prosecution of the case.

Redmans Solicitors are compromise agreement solicitors and settlement agreement solicitors based in London

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Tagged as: criminal defence, criminal law, health and safety, Health and Safety Executive, manslaughter