Changes in the levels of penalties by the Health and Safety (Offences) Act 2008

The Health and Safety Offences Act 2008 is a new piece of health and safety legislation that came into force on 16 January 2009. The act gives the courts greater powers of sentencing, including increases in the fines for those who breach health and safety legislation.

This Act amends Section 33 of the Health and Safety at Work Etc Act 1974, leading to raises in the maximum penalties available to the courts in respect of certain health and safety offences.

The implications of the Health and Safety Offences Act 2008 are that it:

• widens the range of offences for which an individual can be imprisoned
• increases the length of prison sentences in the Magistrates’ Courts from six months to twelve months
• increases the maximum penalties that can be imposed for health and safety regulation breaches in the lower courts up from £5,000 to £20,000
• make certain offences which can currently only go to trial in lower courts triable in either the lower or higher courts

The idea is that appropriate sentences can now be set by the courts at a level that will help to deter some of the businesses that do not take their health and safety management responsibilities seriously.

It should help to encourage employers and others to comply with the law. Further to this, increasing the maximum fine available to the lower courts up to £20,000 and making imprisonment an option will allow more cases to be resolved in the lower courts. This should allow justice to be dispensed in a more expedient manner that is less costly and more efficient.

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No changes in duties and responsibilities

This new Act does not introduce any new legal duties onto businesses and does not change any of the existing ones. It does, however, increase the level of penalties for those businesses that are caught not complying with the existing duties.

The HSE have made it clear that their enforcement policy is set to target “those (businesses) that cut corners and gain commercial advantage over competitors by failing to comply with health and safety law and who put their workers and members of the public at risk.”

The Enforcement Policy Statement of the HSE makes it clear that prosecutions should be in the public interest and where one or more of the following list of circumstances apply:

• where death was a result of a breach of the legislation
• there has been reckless disregard of health and safety requirements
• there have been repeated breaches which give rise to significant risk, or persistent and significant poor compliance; or
• false information has been supplied wilfully, or there has been intent to deceive in relation to a matter which gives rise to significant risk

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