FEE FOR INTERVENTION

It’s a well-known fact that poor health and safety practices cost businesses money. With the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) recently announcing yet another Fee for Intervention (FFI) hike, the cost of non-compliance has climbed once again in 2024.

Following a steady stream of increases over the years, as of April 1, FFI hourly charges will now set employers back an eye-watering £166 per hour.1 That’s a 34% increase on the original cost of £124 per hour when the scheme was first introduced a decade ago.

With businesses already feeling the pinch, do you as an employer understand what FFI is and, more importantly, how to avoid having to fork out?

Here’s what you need to know...

WHAT IS FFI?

Essentially, FFI is a “cost recovery scheme” operated by the HSE. Under the Health and Safety (Fees) Regulations 20121 – the legal framework which underpins the scheme – the HSE has a duty to recover its costs for carrying out its regulatory functions from those found to be in material breach of health and safety law.

In simpler terms, workplaces that are found to have infringed health and safety rules will be required to pay for the time it takes to put things right, to the tune of £166 per hour.1 This hourly charge applies to any inspection, investigation and enforcement action undertaken by the HSE, so costs could mount up quickly.

In the HSE’s words, the idea behind FFI is that it “shifts some of the cost... from the public purse to those businesses and organisations that break health and safety laws”.

Since its inception in 2012, the scheme has been met with some scepticism, with some suggesting that it was introduced as a way for the Treasury and HSE to raise money from unsuspecting employers.

Regardless of the motivation behind the scheme, employers must be aware of the very real possibility of FFI penalties, and ensure their workplaces are health and safety compliant, to avoid being stung by hourly charges.

WHEN WOULD FFI CHARGES BE ISSUED?

This depends on a couple of factors:

• Whether or not you are found to be in a “material breach” of health and safety law: Amaterial breach occurs when the HSE issues a notification of contravention, an improvement or prohibition notice, or a prosecution. Material breaches will generally be those that are substantial and serious; however, the courts have ruled that a series of minor breaches could also constitute a material breach

• Whether the sector you operate in falls under the HSE’s inspection regime: Sectors that the HSE is responsible for regulating include factories, building sites, schools and colleges, fairgrounds, hospitals and nursing homes. Premises which are inspected by Local Authorities and other enforcement agencies are not currently subject to FFI, although an independent review of FFI in 2014 recommended that the scheme should be extended

FOR WHAT SORT OF MATERIAL BREACHES COULD FFI BE IMPOSED?

The HSE identifies four general areas that may trigger FFI charges:

• Health risks, whereby people are exposed to harmful substances such as dust, fumes and chemicals or energy such as noise or vibration

• Safety risks, whereby potential effects are immediate due to traumatic injury, for example, contact with moving machinery, falls from height, or contact with vehicles

• Welfare breaches, whereby the controls required to manage health risks, or the basic rights of people in a modern society, aren’t met.

• Management of health and safety risks, whereby risks are not managed to a sustainable, acceptable level.

NICK BABINGTON

Nick Babington has been an executive board member for several group businesses for 16 years. Currently with Croner Group Ltd, he delivers client-based solutions to businesses of all sizes and advises on employment law, health and safety legislation, mental health, and good commercial practice. His main objective is to demonstrate the necessity of keeping your business up to date with the constant changes in employment law and business safety, whilst unravelling the potential pitfalls that can catch out all employers, however well-meaning their intentions.