The HSE has fined UK firms more than £5.5 million for health and safety failings under its Fee for Intervention (FFI) scheme.
Following a Freedom of Information request it has been revealed that businesses were fined a total of £5,532,565 for health and safety failings since October last year.
Under the new Regulations, companies that break health and safety laws are liable for fines to cover HSE-related costs, which include call-outs, inspections, investigations and taking enforcement action.
Companies found to be at fault of a contravention will be charged at £124 per hour.
An “intervention” is a letter or other communication regarding a fault observed or identified that requires corrective action.
HSE Inspectors are required to record the time they spend on interventions so that a judgement over any subsequent fee can be accurately made.
There is a pyramid of health and safety enforcement within the UK and with around 1000 prosecutions a year and 15,000 enforcement notices a year, the number of formal FFI letters sent to duty-holders can therefore be expected to be even higher!
