Health and Safety Offences (Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974)

Health and Safety Offences arise under s.33 Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. It is an offence for a person to fail to discharge a duty to which he is subject by virtue of ss.2 to 7 (s.33(1)(a)). The general duties include the duty of every employer to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of all his employees (s.2(1)), extending in particular to the provision and maintenance of safe plant and systems of work, safe handling of articles and substances, information, instruction, training and supervision, a safe place of work and a safe working environment (s.2(2)), and the duty of every employer to conduct his undertaking in such a way as to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that persons not in his employment who may be affected are not exposed to risks to their health or safety (s.3(1)); a self-employed person who conducts an undertaking of a prescribed description owes a corresponding duty (s.3(2)). "Person" includes a body of persons corporate or unincorporate (Interpretation Act 1978, Schedule 1). Section 33(1) also lists further offences, including contravening health and safety regulations (s.33(1)(c)), contravening an improvement or prohibition notice (s.33(1)(g)) and intentionally obstructing an inspector (s.33(1)(h)). Maximum sentence for an offence under s.33(1)(a) consisting of a failure to discharge a duty under ss.2 to 6: triable summarily or on indictment; on conviction on indictment, imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, or a fine, or both; on summary conviction, imprisonment for a term not exceeding the general limit in a magistrates' court (12 months for an offence triable either way: Sentencing Act 2020, s.224(1A)(b)), or a fine, or both (s.33(2) and Schedule 3A). For an offence committed before 2 May 2022 the summary limit is read as six months (Schedule 3A, para 2(2)).

In practice

This is an either-way offence: it may be tried at the magistrates' court or the Crown Court. Mode of trial depends on the seriousness and the defendant's election. The suspect must be cautioned in accordance with Code C PACE 1984 before any questions about the offence are put to them. Interviews must be audio-recorded (Code E) or, for indictable offences, may be visually recorded (Code F).