A research report from law firm, Clyde and Co, has found that the manufacturing industry, along with construction, has seen the greatest increase in fines since the introduction of the new health and safety sentencing guidelines – ‘the total value of fines collected from businesses increased to £73.2 million in the first year of the new sentencing guidelines (year end 31 January 2017), up from £35.4 million in the previous 12 months’.
The new guidelines were introduced in February 2016 to bring about tougher penalties for health and safety and corporate manslaughter offences. Their purpose is to ensure that companies adhere to health and safety regulations and to hold them accountable when they fail to do so. The courts now consider culpability, likelihood of harm and the size of business turnover when imposing fines – it’s expected in the future that fines will exceed £10 million for a single offence.
This is a harsh reminder to business owners that they simply cannot break health and safety legislation – it’s got to hurt, that’s the point of the sentence.
With manufacturers having to manage far more health and safety issues than most other industry sectors, the importance of full compliance is particularly important for both companies and individuals.
Only this month a supplier to the aerospace trade was fined £800,000 and a further £5,119 in costs when an employee suffered serious leg injuries after falling into the path of an advancing work platform. While according to Clyde & Co ‘the highest fine imposed on the manufacturing sector was £3 million, ordered to be paid by Cristal Pigment UK Limited, following two separate incidents in which toxic gas clouds were released’.
When an inspector calls
HSE inspectors are more likely to pay an unexpected visit to your business as manufacturing premises pose a higher risk, even with no accident having occurred. Inspectors are likely to want to look at all your business to identify any areas where you are not compliant.
Where non-compliance is identified, you are likely to receive, in addition to any written warnings or notices, a Fee For Intervention (FFI). The FFI scheme is applied when a material breach of health and safety law is found. The HSE can then issue a notice in writing and the business is charged for the HSE's time. This was brought into effect to recover costs of the HSE and give businesses a sharp shock to encourage them to improve safety processes.
If non-compliance is identified during a routine visit or accident investigation and prosecution action is taken against you then the potential fine is likely to be far higher than it would have been prior to the new sentencing guidelines coming into effect.
Companies are now fined according to the culpability of the business; the level of potential harm that could have been or was caused and on their turnover too. They can now be fined millions, potentially putting them out of business and directors can also be sent to jail.
Good health and safety practice
Consider the state of your safety processes and procedures - you might think they are up to scratch but have you had an expert in to confirm this? If someone did have an accident, would you be certain that they had been properly trained? Had they received the right equipment and PPE and was a comprehensive risk assessment carried out?
One of the common areas manufacturers are caught out include training – have your staff been properly trained in all the work they conduct and the machinery they use?
Machinery guarding
Many incidents are caused by inadequate or missing machinery guarding. It’s important to check not only that you have guarding where required, but that it is effective and properly in place when the machinery is being operated and that your staff know to use it.
Risk assessments
If an accident were to happen, are your risk assessments thorough enough to stand up in court? Have they been conducted for each piece of machinery? Have you estimated the correct level of risk for each assessment? And are your control measures adequate to reduce the risk sufficiently? For example, if you write in your risk assessments that there is a possible risk of death, you would be fined according to this – i.e. given the highest fine possible.
Finally, can you prove these requirements? Have you got a track record of training for each staff member and evidence that risk assessments have been reviewed? Do you have evidence that a daily walk around was conducted by a staff member to ensure machinery guarding was in place?
These guidelines are designed to examine all safety measures taken within a business and allow for high fines, to make sure that businesses take the safety of their employees seriously. If you are unsure, asking a professional is strongly advised – since the cost of an accident is likely to be far higher than that of taking proactive action to maintain high safety standards.
Future
As for the future, it remains to be seen how the courts will exercise their powers in the long-term, but a doubling of fines in the first year confirms that this new harder regime is here to stay. Manufacturers simply cannot afford to be complacent when it comes to good health and safety practice.
