HSEs new cost recovery scheme, Fee for Intervention (FFI), has come into effect on Monday 1st October.
Under The Health and Safety (Fees) Regulations 2012, those who break health and safety laws are liable for recovery of HSE’s related costs, including inspection, investigation and taking enforcement action.
The Fee for Intervention hourly rate for 2012/13 is £124. The many businesses that comply with their legal obligations will continue to pay nothing.
With the HSE loosing over £40 million form its annual budget, these Regulations will put a duty on HSE to recover its cost for carrying out its regulatory functions from those businesses and organisations found to be in breach of all health and safety law.
The proposed Fee for Intervention hourly rate for is £124.
A material Breach is when in the opinion of the HSE inspector there has been contravention of health and safety law and that is a serious enough to require them to notify the company/organisation in writing. This could include such breaches as staff working in an unsafe environment not having a Health and Safety Policy and Risk Assesment, not carrying out Workplace Exposure Monitoring and not Managing Asbestos.
New detailed guidance has been published on HSE’s website setting out how the scheme will work in practice. Developed in consultation with representatives from industry, it explains how Fee for Intervention (FFI) works and includes examples illustrating how it would be applied.
HSE government believe it is right that businesses and organisations who break health and safety laws should pay for the HSE’s time. Without FFI, this is paid from the public purse.
FFI Recovers HSE's costs from those who break health and safety laws for the time and effort HSE spends helping to put matters right such as, investigating accidents and taking enforcement and legal action.
Law abiding businesses will be free from the HSE cost recovery scheme if they take Workplace Health and Safety seriously and adopt a robust Health and Safety Management System.
The HSE hope that the scheme will encourage businesses and organisations to comply with health and safety law in the first place or put matters right quickly when they don’t. It will also discourage those who undercut their competitors by not complying with the law and putting people at risk.
Bradley Environmental can help you avoid the HSE cost recovery scheme by offering you a range of Workplace Health and Safety services.
Contact us today for further information before its too late.
Gordon Macdonald, HSEe’s Programme director said
“Confirming the date for the start fee for intervention and publishing the guidance will give duty holders clarity and certainty about the start of the scheme and what they can expect.
“We have worked with industry representatives in shaping the final form of the scheme will work and what business can do to comply with the law and avoid incurring fee.
“It is right that those who break the law should pay their fair share of the costs to put things right and not the public purse. Firms who manage workplace risks properly will not pay”
The HSE Board recommend the introduction of FFI to ministers in December 2011. HSE has completed a successful test run of the scheme in preparation for its start in October.
What is Fee Intervention?
HSE’s inspectors will inspect work activities and investigate incidents and complaints. If when visiting your business, they see breaches of the law, you will pay a hefty fee. The fee is based on the amount of time that the inspector has had to spend on site, any administration, return visits and helping you to put it right. HSE will now also charge time for investigating and taking enforcement action.
Will FFI apply to me?
If you comply with the law you won’t pay a fee. FFI will apply to all businesses inspected by HSE, except for:
• Self-employed people who don’t put people at risk by their work;
• Businesses that are already paying fees to HSE for the work through other arrangements (such as the licence fee paid by asbestos removal contractors; and
• Business that deliberately work with certain biological agents
What is a Health and Safety material breach?
A material breach is where you have broken the law and the inspector judges this is serious enough for them to notify you in writing. This will be a notification of contravention (letter), an improvement notice or a prohibition notice.
Examples of material breaches include not providing guards to dangerous parts of machinery, or materials containing asbestos in a poor or damaged condition resulting in the potential to release asbestos fibres. When you receive a notice of contravention, it will make it clear which contraventions are material breaches where a fee is payable.
How much will the Fee for Intervention cost me?
The inspector will record the time they have spent identifying the material breach, helping you to put it right, investigating and taking enforcement action.This will include time spent carrying out visits including all the time spent carrying out visits, writing letters , notices, reports, taking statements and getting specialists support for complex issues. This total amount of time will be multiplied by an hourly rate to give you the amount you must pay. Some experts have estimated an everage bill of over £3K for minor breaches.
Bradley environmental can assist any type of business, comply with Health and Safety Law and offer a range of health and safety consultancy services contact us today for further information .
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Our services include Asbestos Surveys, Asbestos Project Management, Workplace Health and Safety Consultants,Health and Safety Risk Assessments, Noise Assessments, Asbestos Awareness Training, Legionella Risk Assessments and Health and Safety Training.
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