Date 14 January 2009
On 16 January 2009, new health and safety legislation comes into force increasing the maximum penalties for health and safety offences under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. The aim of the new law is to penalise breaches of health and safety legislation more severely and to persuade companies and individuals who do not take their health and safety responsibilities seriously that they should do so or face substantial punishment.
The new penalties, which affect all employers, include an uplift from £5,000 to £20,000 in the maximum fine that can be imposed in the Magistrates' Court for health and safety offences. There is also a new maximum prison sentence for Magistrates' Court offences of six months. Previously, very few prison sentences were imposed by the Magistrates' Court for health and safety offences.
For more serious offences proceeding to the Crown Court, the new maximum fine is unlimited and the new maximum prison sentence is two years. The new legislation permits more health and safety cases to be heard in the Crown Court than was previously the case, meaning that the number of such prosecutions are likely to significantly increase.
It has therefore never been more important for employers to ensure that their health and safety policies and practices are audited regularly. Remedial work will need to be undertaken promptly where improvement is identified as being required.
If you would like to discuss any aspect of this article in more detail, please contact Chris Cook of the SA Law Employment Department on 01727 798017 or by email at chris.cook@salaw.com.
© SA Law 2009
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