Health and Safety Executive

Health and Safety Executive

Fee for Intervention:

An Update

Gavin Bye

Fee for Intervention

• Implementation October 2012

• Compliant businesses will not pay a fee

• Recovery of costs for material breach

• Current cost £124 per hour

• Prosecution costs sought through the courts

• Invoicing every two months with 30 days to pay

• Queries and disputes process

Material breach

“A material breach is when, in the opinion of the HSE inspector,

there has been a contravention of

health and safety law that requires them to notify the dutyholder,

in writing, of that opinion ”

Scope - exclusions

• Existing permissioning regimes

• Local Authorities

• Self-employed dutyholders (putting only themselves at risk)

• Individuals

• Non-Health and Safety at Work Act legislation

Process

• When an Inspector identifies a material breach they must write to the duty-holder

• Specifying the provision or provisions to which the Inspector’s opinion relates

• Giving particulars of the reasons for that opinion

• Informing them that fee for intervention is payable

Construction Division Priorities

• Asbestos licensing

• HSE Investigation Procedures

• Construction Programme• Small Sites• Refurbishment• Major Projects/Large Contractors

• Inspection priorities

Challenges

• Multiple duty holders

• Overlapping CDM duties

• Fire

• Asbestos Licensing

• CDM “Person in Control”

• Nuclear new build

Proactive Work

• Identifying the duty holders

• Large sites

• Procurement models

• Material breaches by site duty holders only

• “Tracking back”

• Early Intervention

• Paperwork - Reverse letters

Tracking back

• “Track back” reveals off-site CDM Duty holder has some responsibility for site material breach

• “Track back” reveals off-site CDM Duty holder has sole responsibility for site material breach

• “Track back” reveals off-site CDM Duty holder has no responsibility for site material breach

Investigations

• Identifying all the duty holders

• Allocating time

• Lines of inquiry

• Decision making

• Court proceedings

Investigations – Multiple Duty Holders

• Initial site time determining immediate causes

• Further analysis of factual evidence relating to the immediate causes

• Further lines of inquiry – one duty holder

• Further lines of inquiry - two or more duty holders

Other issues

• Fire legislation

• Asbestos

• CDM Regulation 25

• Nuclear new Build