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How is Health and Safety Law Enforced?

Enforcing Authorities for Health & Safety at Work
The task of ensuring that health and safety at work law is enforced is shared between local Councils and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

The Councils cover mainly commercial activities, which include shops, warehouses, offices, hotels and catering, sports, leisure, consumer services (launderettes, hairdressers, undertakers, shoe repair, tyre and exhaust fitters), residential care homes and churches. The Commercial Team in the Environmental Health Service look after these businesses in East Devon.

The HSE covers the mainly industrial activities, factories, building sites, mines and quarries, agriculture, railways, chemical plant and offshore and nuclear installations. They also cover fairgrounds.

What do We do at East Devon?
We try to prevent workplace occupational accidents and ill-health by:

• Inspecting workplaces to make sure that risks are properly managed
• Investigating accidents, occupational ill-health and dangerous occurrences
• Investigating complaints about working conditions or work practices
• Making recommendations of good practice
• Helping people meet their legal responsibilities
• Acting as a source of advice on any aspect of health and safety
• Promoting awareness/knowledge of safety issues through campaigns, newsletters, seminars or training courses
• On occasions ensuring that certain actions are taken by way of formal notices
• Taking legal proceedings where it is the public interest to do so

What happens during a visit?
This depends on why the visit is being made and the type of workplace being visited.

General inspections look at the risk to both employees and the public. As a rule, places with more serious risks, or risks that have been poorly controlled in the past, will be visited more often.

All notifications of accidents, ill health and dangerous occurrences are assessed to see if a visit is needed. We consider the severity of the injury, potential for recurrence, extent of possible breaches of legislation, type of accident, the past record of the business and any remedial action taken to decide if we will visit a premises.

Unannounced inspections are usually made for complaint or accident visits, Where we need to see senior management, for routine visits we usually make an appointment. We will probably want to talk to managers, supervisors, employees, health and safety representatives and other interested persons. In addition to looking around your premises, we will examine safety-related paperwork such as:

• health and safety policy statements
• written risk assessments
• plant maintenance and inspection records
• training records
• accident and health records

Inspectors are under a legal obligation to tell employees about issues affecting their health, safety or welfare at their workplace. We may do this verbally at the time of visit or by sending a copy of any correspondence to employees representatives.

At the end of the visit the Inspector will outline what further action, if any, is going to be taken. In any correspondence we will seek to provide you with useful and relevant advice on what you need to do.

What happens if the Inspector finds something unsafe or against the law?
Inspectors are trained to be consistent in their actions and follow set procedures so that employers in similar circumstances should be treated in a similar way.

Our main aim is to help and advise but formal enforcement action may need to be taken. We consider a number of factors in deciding what action to take, including:

• the degree of risk
• the seriousness of the legal contravention
• past record and general attitude to health and safety
• if there has been a blatant disregard for the law
• if there is sufficient evidence

Formal enforcement powers include the issue of Improvement or Prohibition notices:

• Improvement notices tell you what the problem is and require things to put right within a certain time. The Inspector would usually discuss the time limit with you and explain how to get it extended if there is good reason.
• Prohibition notices tell you what the problem is and require you to stop doing something until things are put right. These are only issued if it is considered that there is a risk of serious injury.

Notices will contain an explanation of what you must do to comply. You are often allowed to use a different but equally effective alternative. When notices are issued, a copy will be provided for any employees. The law requires some notices to be put in a register, which is open to public inspection. Failure to comply with a notice is a serious offence and is likely to lead to prosecution. If you appeal against an Improvement Notice it is suspended until the appeal is heard. A Prohibition Notice usually remains in force until the appeal is heard. An appeal form will be enclosed with either type of notice.

The Inspector can also decide to prosecute any company and/or individual breaking the law.

Prosecution is more likely where there:

• is a blatant disregard for the law (particularly for economic reasons)
• is reckless disregard for the health and safety of workpeople and others
• have been repeated breaches of legislation and management is neither willing nor structured to deal adequately with these
• has been a serious accident or a case of ill-health arising from a substantial legal contravention

or where:

• a particular type of offence is prevalent in an activity or area
• a particular contravention has caused justifiable, serious public concern

The laws that Inspectors enforce take account of the costs of what you are required to do. This means that the action required must be in proportion to the risks concerned.

The leaflet, ‘What to do when an Inspector calls’ can be viewed on the HSE website. www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/hsc14.htm

What powers do Inspectors have?
Inspectors have a wide range of powers to:

• enter premises at any reasonable time
• carry out examinations and investigations
• take measurements, photographs and samples
• take possession of an article (telling you why and giving you a receipt)
• have articles dismantled and tested
• require information and take statements
• inspect and copy documents

What standards can you expect from us?
We will:-

• be courteous
• be fair and consistent
• tell you our name, show you an ID card when we visit
• tell you our name when speaking on the phone
• give help and advice whenever required

We also aim to respond to complaints or requests for advice within three working days. Many will be answered immediately.

If we are going to write following a visit we will tell you how long it will take. Normally this will be within 10 working days of a routine visit.

We seek to continually improve our performance

How to complain if you are unhappy with us
If you are not happy with any aspect of service (e.g. officer conduct, level of service or the way you have been treated) you can speak or, if you prefer, write to the Commercial Team Manager, Mr Paul Martin at the Council Offices, or send an e-mail through the contact details above.

The Council operates a complaints procedure to ensure that all complaints are thoroughly and fairly investigated. Complaint forms are available from Council offices.

Page last updated on 24 May 2012