HSE ‘Fee For Intervention’ charging scheme
HSE ‘Fee For Intervention’ charging scheme – latest news
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has announced that it is delaying the implementation of its new charging scheme until October 2012 at the earliest. The Fee For Intervention scheme will identify and charge for health and safety contraventions. However, the HSE has not yet provided details of what a contravention will be.
‘Fee For Intervention’ is a financial penalty that will be levied on an organisation whenever an HSE inspector identifies a ‘contravention’ during a visit or inspection. The Fee will be charged on the basis of the inspector’s time, at a rate of £124 per hour. It has been estimated that even a simple ‘contravention’ - a simple breach of the Regulations - will cost at least £750.
If a problem is identified by an inspector, the hourly charge will apply from the start of the visit during which the problem is identified, and continue to accrue for the inspector’s time until the breach has been rectified. It doesn’t require much imagination to see that substantial costs will mount up quickly!
Of course, the cheapest option is to monitor health and safety in your organisation to ensure you are fully compliant with the law, and that employees and third parties do not have any grounds to lodge a complaint with the HSE.
As the FFI scheme will not now be implemented until October 2012 at the earliest, businesses are provided with a window of opportunity to make sure that they are compliant with health and safety law. To assist in this process, Simply-docs has created a Health and Safety Checklist of Must Have and Recommended documents, organised by industry sector. Having the correct paperwork in place will not in itself make your workplace safe, but it is a good place to start!
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has announced that it is delaying the implementation of its new charging scheme until October 2012 at the earliest. The Fee For Intervention scheme will identify and charge for health and safety contraventions. However, the HSE has not yet provided details of what a contravention will be.
‘Fee For Intervention’ is a financial penalty that will be levied on an organisation whenever an HSE inspector identifies a ‘contravention’ during a visit or inspection. The Fee will be charged on the basis of the inspector’s time, at a rate of £124 per hour. It has been estimated that even a simple ‘contravention’ - a simple breach of the Regulations - will cost at least £750.
If a problem is identified by an inspector, the hourly charge will apply from the start of the visit during which the problem is identified, and continue to accrue for the inspector’s time until the breach has been rectified. It doesn’t require much imagination to see that substantial costs will mount up quickly!
Of course, the cheapest option is to monitor health and safety in your organisation to ensure you are fully compliant with the law, and that employees and third parties do not have any grounds to lodge a complaint with the HSE.
As the FFI scheme will not now be implemented until October 2012 at the earliest, businesses are provided with a window of opportunity to make sure that they are compliant with health and safety law. To assist in this process, Simply-docs has created a Health and Safety Checklist of Must Have and Recommended documents, organised by industry sector. Having the correct paperwork in place will not in itself make your workplace safe, but it is a good place to start!
The contents of this Newsletter are for reference purposes only and do not constitute legal advice. Independent legal advice should be sought in relation to any specific legal matter.