Coming soon, potentially to a company near you

Have you heard a rumour of another potential charge on a business?

This is more than rumour: The HSE (Health and Safety Executive) will charge companies if they visit them if that visit results in some form of enforcement action. This will start from 01 October 2012 and it is not something that the HSE will have discretion about; it will be mandatory and could affect any company, including those reading this article.  Gordon MacDonald (the HSE's programme director), said:

"The Government has agreed that it is right that those who break the law should pay their fair share of the costs to put things right - and not the public purse.  These proposals provide a further incentive for people to operate within the law, levelling the playing field between those who comply and those who don't. Compliant firms will not pay a penny in intervention fees."

So, how much might a company be charged by the HSE?

Cost recovery is almost certainly going to be at £124. The actual costs that will recovered by the HSE (when the Health and Safety (Fees) Regulations 2012 come into force) will be dependent on the complexity of the investigation that is required to follow all reasonable lines of enquiry, but some guideline figures have been offered:

•               Inspection with no action taken - No costs will be recovered

•               Inspection which results in a letter - Approximately £750

•               Inspection which results in Enforcement Notice - Approximately £1500

•               Investigations carried out by the HSE - Ranging from approximately £750 through to several thousands of pounds to, in extreme cases, tens of thousands of pounds

Looking for some simple steps to avoid such charges?

The obvious answer is to do the common-sense things and ensure that you are (and remain) compliant with the relevant Health and Safety legislation and this will help you to avoid attracting the unwanted attention of the HSE:

•               Keep your health and safety policy and associated procedures up to date.

•               Keep your risk assessments reviewed and up to date.

•               Ensure that you have adequate control over your contractors.

•               Take prompt action to prevent situations developing that may attract the interest of the HSE.

•               Ensure that you keep suitable records.

•               Keep your employee training records up to date.

Your actions may protect your employees, but it is your records that will protect your Company and provide you with peace of mind.

Michael Ellerby

Director, LRB Consulting Limited
Tel: 01509 550023 www.Lrbconsulting.co.uk  

Ignorance of asbestos continues to be a problem

A contractor has been found guilty of potentially exposing workers and shoppers to asbestos on a busy high-street construction site because he flouted the rules on working with this hazardous material.

The contractor was fined for several breaches of asbestos and construction design legislation on the Bromley High Street site.  In this case the contractor was a private individual. An HSE inspector who investigated the case,commented that the project had not been properly planned. The project involved the demolition of a building that comprised a restaurant on the ground floor with flats above it. Three workers, whose qualifications could not be proved, were overseen by the contractor. 


During the demolition, the workers, who did not recognise that the insulating boards in the restaurant’s ceiling contained asbestos and they used sledgehammers and hand-operated tools to break them up, so they were “more than likely” to have been exposed to asbestos fibres (according to the Inspector).
The investigating HSE Inspector said: 

“Sadly, this kind of incident is all too familiar. The dangers of asbestos are well known; it is the single greatest cause of work-related deaths in the UK, with around 1000 tradesmen dying each year from asbestos-related diseases ... Anyone working with these sorts of materials must commission an asbestos survey to ascertain the level of work needed and then have asbestos removed in a controlled manner by a licensed contractor.”

The contractor pleaded guilty to breaching the following Regulations, for which he was fined a total of £19,300 and ordered to pay full HSE costs of £7654:

• reg.8(1) of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006, by undertaking work with asbestos without a licence – fine £8000;
• reg.5 of the same Regulations, by not conducting an asbestos survey – fine £6000;
• reg.4(1) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007, by not appointing a competent site manager – fine £2650; and
• reg.22(1) of the same Regulations by not managing construction work to ensure safety – fine £2650.

In mitigation, the contractor commented that he had made a mistake of ignorance and had not acted for profit motives. He had not deliberately broken the law on asbestos, but had not been aware of it. He had done what he had been asked to do to improve matters since the incident.

The site was cleared after the investigation and has since stood empty behind a first-floor façade. Inspector Seabrook explained that the site is located next to a Sainsbury’s store, which would have potentially exposed shoppers to asbestos while the demolition had been taking place. 
 

If you need help to meet your asbestos legislation duties, contact us through our website

The need for records - health and safety (revisit)

I first posted this blog about two years ago. It is still true (and simple) now.

Recently, I spent a morning in Birmingham visiting a neat little site for a major client. There were a few niggly areas to address, but the main one (which seems to affect a huge number of sites) was the retrieval of relevant records. While almost everything was in place, it was difficult to establish this with the paperwork trail. The importance of the paperwork trail can be seen by considering safety to be split into two simple things:

1. The things that we do to protect ourselves, employees and others
2. The proof of what we have done

Clearly, it is the things that we do that are most important for protecting people from harm. The proof element becomes important after things have gone wrong or when there is an enforcement visit. The proof element is essential for protecting the Company from harm. By way on schoolboy analogy: "if you are called into the Head's office to be caned, ensure that you have book down the back of your trousers". 

The records are those books - your corporate protection.

Need help to get things straight? Contact us through our website

Cost Recovery: HSE Proposal

This 3 minute podcast will explain in simple terms the effects of the controversial HSE cost recovery proposals, which will take effect from April next year. Find out how these proposals will effect you and your business.

Cost Recovery: HSE Proposal CD235

From April next year, the HSE will charge companies if they visit them and that visit results in some form of enforcement action. This is not something that the HSE will have discretion about, it will be mandatory.

Gordon MacDonald (the HSE's programme director), said:

"The Government has agreed that it is right that those who break the law should pay their fair share of the costs to put things right - and not the public purse. These proposals provide a further incentive for people to operate within the law, levelling the playing field between those who comply and those who don't. Compliant firms will not pay a penny in intervention fees."

How much might I be charged by the HSE?

Cost recovery would be at an averaged hourly fee for intervention rate, currently estimated at £133, for nearly all HSE staff. The actual costs that will recovered by the HSE will be dependent on the complexity of the investigation that is required to follow all reasonable lines of enquiry, but some guideline figures have been offered:

• Inspection with no action taken - No costs will be recovered
• Inspection which results in a letter - Approximately £750
• Inspection which results in Enforcement Notice - Approximately £1500
• Investigations carried out by the HSE - Ranging from approximately £750 through to several thousands of pounds to, in extreme cases, tens of thousands of pounds.

Want to avoid the HSE Charges?

Ensure that you are (and remain) compliant with the relevant Health and Safety legislation and this will help you to avoid attracting the attention of the HSE:

• Keep your risk assessments reviewed and up to date.
• Ensure that you have adequate control over your contractors.
• Take prompt action to prevent situations developing that may attract the interest of the HSE.
• Ensure that you keep suitable records.
• Keep that employee training is kept up to date.Keep your policies and procedures up to date.

Want to see more detailed information?

Have a look at the HSE's Consultative Document on this subject - Click here

The underlying policy of recovering costs for the HSE’s intervention through the introduction of fees where there is a material breach of the law has already been agreed by the Government. This is, therefore, not in question in this consultation. The consultation document seeks views on the systems being proposed by HSE for how it would implement this policy.

Update (21 October 2011)
The Chemical Business Association (CBA) has branded the Health & Safety Executive’s (HSE) plans to extend cost recovery as the equivalent of seeking a blank cheque from industry to compensate for cuts in its departmental budget. This would see plant owner/operators charged for any ’material breach’ found by its Inspectors and for any ’formal intervention’ required


Mike Ellerby
LRB Consulting Ltd
01509 550023
Web address