RSA Environmental Health

The HSE Fees for Intervention is soon to be introduced in England. These fees are being introduced so that the HSE can recoup ALL its cost if a “CONTRAVENTION” leads to an enforcement letter/email or instant visit report or a notice. Verbal advice will be free, but it should be noted that it is considered poor practice by enforcement officers not to record in writing any non-compliance discussed so that there can be no misunderstanding at a later date as to what was said. So in practice, every visit will attract some form of written report. As an ex-enforcement officer I know that it is virtually impossible not to identify several health and safety contraventions even in a well run business.

It is important to note here that a contravention is different to a material breach. A contravention can be a trivial matter, for example the health and safety law poster “What you need to know” not prominently displayed.

How much a written report costs will vary but there are few inspectors who can knock out a report in less than 1 hour. If the report extends to several pages this could be very expensive as costs are recovered at £124 per hour. If you fail to resolve the contravention promptly, several additional letters may be written, this will continue until the issue is resolved. Note; on any subsequent visit to check your progress the inspector may identify additional trivial matters.

At a legal update I attended, delivered by Ron Reid of Shoosmiths he estimated £750 for a letter and £1500 for a notice.

Some will be thinking, that’s not bad, after all I have not seen a HSE inspector for several years and they are being cut back, so the chances I will ever be subject of a costly letter is minimal. Wrong – In 2010/2011 18,290 notices were issued. As the HSE prepare for the introduction of fees they have been increasing their productivity significantly, already this year improvement notices are up 23%, prohibition notices 13% and although the HSE don’t keep records of the number of letters issued it would be surprising if these has fallen. Be very aware that notices are rarely issued singularly.

As a safety consultant I will not be able to put in place management systems that will prevent letters being written by the HSE for trivial contraventions, but what I am able to do is work with you to ensure safety breeches are kept to a minimum and that where contraventions are identified you have the tools to resolve them promptly.

Local authority enforcement authorities have chosen not to recoup their costs, but I believe that when they see just how much money the HSE are recovering they will change their minds.

For those who struggle with mental arithmetic, 18,290 notices x £1500 = £27,435,000.