News

HEALTH AND SAFETY OFFENCES ACT 2008

This new piece of legislation came into force on Friday 16th January 2009. The new Act will increase penalties from £5k to £20k and will provide the courts with greater powers to use against those who are breaking Health & Safety law and putting people at risk. The range of offenses that an individual can be imprisoned for has also increased.

The duties that are imposed on employers are not increased or changed by the new Act. It does however mean that employers who do not take their responsibilities under Health & Safety seriously will face significantly higher penalties at significant loss to the business and reputation.
Good employers who manage robust Health & Safety systems and do everything as far as is reasonably practicable regarding Health & Safety have nothing to fear or worry about!