Tougher penalties for health and safety offencesTougher penalties for health and safety offences

On 16 January 2009 the Health and Safety Offences Act 2008 came into force, increasing penalties and providing courts with greater sentencing powers for those who break health and safety law.

Welcoming the new Act, Chair of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) Judith Hackitt said: "This Act gives lower courts the power to impose higher fines for some health and safety offences. It is right that there should be a real deterrent to those businesses and individuals that do not take their health and safety responsibilities seriously. Everyone has the right to work in an environment where risks to their health and safety are properly managed, and employers have a duty in law to deliver this.

"Our message to the many employers who do manage health and safety well is that they have nothing to fear from this change in law. There are no new duties on employers or businesses, and HSE is not changing its approach to how it enforces health and safety law. We will retain the important safeguards that ensure that our inspectors use their powers sensibly and proportionately. We will continue to target those who knowingly cut corners, put lives at risk and who gain commercial advantage over competitors by failing to comply with the law."

The Health and Safety (Offences) Act 2008 received Royal Assent on 16 October 2008, fulfilling a longstanding Government and HSE commitment to provide courts with greater sentencing powers for health and safety offences. The three main effects of the Act are:

1. Raise the maximum fine that may be imposed in the lower courts to £20,000 for most health and safety offences.

2. Make imprisonment an option for more health and safety offences in both the lower and higher courts.

3. Make certain offences, which are currently triable only in the lower courts, triable in either the lower or higher courts.

Note that the 2008 Act is not retrospective, so the new penalties will only apply to offences committed on or after 16 January 2009.

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