What to expect from a Health and Safety Inspection

31 January 2006

If you employ people, you could receive a routine or surprise visit from a Health and Safety inspector. The inspector's job is to help you provide a safe working environment. They will also be able to advise you on how to meet your legal obligations.

A health and safety awareness officer from the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) may also visit you, instead of an inspector. Again, their role is to provide you with advice, direct you to information sources and gather information about your business.

Preparing for the Health and Safety inspector's visit

A Health and Safety inspector may visit any workplace at any time without giving notice. For a routine inspection, they will usually phone ahead to ensure the relevant staff are available.
When you know that an inspector is planning to visit, it is helpful to prepare. The main function of the inspector is to secure compliance with the law and to help you meet your legal duties. The inspector will be trying to judge whether you are aware of the main risks of injury and ill health in your workplace and if you are taking appropriate action to control them. They will usually want to check:

• the workplace
• work activities
• your management of health and safety
• whether or not you are complying with health and safety law

It may be helpful to have to hand:

• your health and safety policy
• copies of any appropriate risk assessments
• records of any inspections of work equipment which are required by law - this includes lifting equipment, pressurised systems or local exhaust ventilation to control exposure to substances used at work
• any written safe working methods
• any records of safety training carried out
• a valid Employers' Liability insurance certificate

The Health and Safety inspector's rights and powers

Whatever the purpose of the visit, inspectors have the authority to take certain actions, including:
• carrying out examinations and investigations, including taking measurements, photographs and samples
• taking possession of an article and arranging for it to be dismantled or tested
• seizing and making safe any article or substance that could cause serious personal injury
• requesting information and taking statements from people they think can help an investigation
• inspecting and copying documents
• If the inspector considers that your activities give rise to a serious risk, or, that you are breaking health and safety law, they can:
• issue an informal warning, verbally or in writing
• issue an improvement notice or prohibition notice
• prosecute the company or individuals

Health and safety prosecutions

The Health and Safety inspector will help you meet your legal duties by persuasion and by offering advice. But they may decide to prosecute if there is enough evidence and if prosecution is in the public interest.

Prosecution is more likely and will normally follow in cases where:

• someone has been killed due to a breach of law
• the offence or injury is serious, or the general approach of the offender warrants it
• there has been repeated poor compliance
• work has been carried out without a licence where one is needed, or in breach of the terms of that licence
• work has been carried out without a safety case where one is needed, or fails to follow the processes set out in a safety case
• the standard of safety management falls far below that expected and causes significant risk
• there has been a failure to comply with an improvement notice or prohibition notice
• there has been an intent to deceive in relation to a matter which gives rise to significant risk
• inspectors have been intentionally obstructed in the course of their duties

The maximum penalty possible under health and safety legislation depends on the offence. As an example, the maximum penalty for failure to comply with an improvement or prohibition notice is a £20,000 fine and/or six months' imprisonment - for the owners and directors of an unincorporated business, or an unlimited fine and/or two years' imprisonment for an incorporated business.

The police decide if a work incident is so serious that it warrants investigation of manslaughter, or grievous bodily harm offences.

Prosecution arrangements are different in the Scottish and Northern Ireland legal systems.

If you have any questions relating to Health and Safety Inspections, or if you would like a representative from our organisation to be present at your planned visit, contact us on 08456 122144

(Information sourced Business Link website – Jan 2006)