Proposed regulations forcing businesses to pay for their own health and safety inspections are due to come into effect on 1 October 2012.
The new 'Fee for Intervention' (FFI), will allow the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to recover its costs for carrying out inspections, from businesses which are found to be in breach of health and safety law.
Businesses deemed to be in breach will be forced to pay for the inspector's hourly rates from the initial inspection, regardless of when the breach is detected. The proposed rate for 2012/13 will be £124 an hour.
There has been strong opposition to these proposals, from the Forum of Private Business (FPB), which argues that although it acknowledges the benefit of good health & safety practices, it wants the government to understand the significant financial demands on business at present. The FPB has lobbied the government to request that greater understanding be shown by enforcement officers, that firms face a number of inspections from multiple agencies across all aspects of their business.
A House of Lords committee is currently reviewing the plans, but at the time of going to press, the proposed FFI is still set to come into force in October.
Our advice is to take every possible step to ensure that your business is compliant with health & safety legislation. A review by an independent Health & Safety Consultant (working for you rather than the HSE) is a low-cost, efficient use of time. Very often, the suggested improvements need not involve significant cost – an improvement plan could involve steps such as changing procedures or moving equipment; it doesn’t necessarily involve expensive new purchases.
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