A new act has recently come into force which will see the penalties for
imposed health and safety breaches rise. At the moment magistrates can
impose a fine upto £20,000 for breaches of the
Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and fines of up to £5,000 for breaches of many of the
Health and Safety breaches.
Imprisonment
is only available for a very limited number of offences, such as
breaching improvement notices or prohibition notices.
The Health and Safety (Offences) Act 2008;
- Increases the maximum fine which may be imposed by magistrates to £20,000 for most Health and Safety offences.
- Allows imprisonment to be an availablepunishment for more Health and Safety offences; and
- Makes a number of offences, which at present can only be heard
by the magistrates, also be heard in the crown courts which have
stronger sentencing powers.
This now means that the maximum the magistrates can impose for Health and Safety
breaches is to be increased to £20,000, bringing it in line with the
maximum for a breach of section two or three of the 1974 act.
Individuals
found to have breached any of the core obligations under the act or any
of the regulations could face imprisonment of up to 12 months by the
magistrates or up to 2 years by the crown courts, if convicted.
The purpose of the change is to try and deter companies and their management in offending. According to the HSE,
the average fine for Health and Safety offences in England in 2006/7
was over £12k, an increase on the previous year which was just over £9k.
If you would like any more information on the Health and Safety (Offences) Act 2008, please see HSE's website by clicking here.
If
you believe the standard of your Forklift Operatives is outside the
scope of the Health and Safety regulations, please do not hesititate in
contacting Forklift Agency on 0845 226 7710 for some free advice.
