Health and safety crime in the United Kingdom

Last updated

In the United Kingdom there are several crimes that arise from failure to take care of health, safety and welfare at work.

Contents

Offences under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974

All offences under the Act are triable summarily in a magistrates' court. However, some offences are triable on indictment in the Crown Court by judge and jury. If the magistrates feel that the offence is so serious as to exceed their sentencing powers, they can send it to the Crown Court for trial of for sentencing. The accused has a right to opt for Crown Court trial. Some other offences are only summarily triable. Either an individual or a corporation can be punished [1] A corporation cannot be imprisoned, though an individual manager could be convicted if guilty of an offence.

The statutory offences and maximum penalties are: [2]

SectionOffenceMaximum sentence on summary convictionMaximum sentence on indictment
S.33(1)(a)Failing to discharge a duty under:
S.2 Ensuring the health safety and welfare of employees
S.3 Avoiding risks to the health and safety of non-employees
S.4 Ensuring the safety of premises used for work
S.5 Preventing emission of noxious of offensive substances into the atmosphere
S.6 Ensuring the safety of articles used at work
Unlimited fineUnlimited fine
Failing to discharge a duty under s.7 Duty of employees to take care of safetyUnlimited fineUnlimited fine
S.33(1)(b)Contravention of:
S.8 Intentionally or recklessly interfering with or misusing anything provided in the interests of health, safety or welfare in pursuance of any of the relevant statutory provisions.
S.9 Charging employees for provision of health and safety facilities.
Unlimited fineUnlimited fine
S.33(1)(c)Contravention of any regulation Unlimited fineUnlimited fine
S.33(1)(d)Failure of the Health and Safety Executive to hold an inquiry, or obstruction thereof, when directed by the CommissionFine at Level 5 on the standard scale
S.33(1)(e)Contravention of a requirement imposed by an inspector under s.20Fine at Level 5 on the standard scale
Contravention of a requirement imposed by an inspector under s.25 (situations of imminent danger)Unlimited fineUnlimited fine
S.33(1)(f)Preventing a person from appearing before an inspectorFine at Level 5 on the standard scale
S.33(1)(g)Contravening a requirement or prohibition imposed by an improvement or prohibition noticeSix months' imprisonment and unlimited fineTwo years' imprisonment and unlimited fine
S.33(1)(h) Intentionally obstructing an inspectorFine at Level 5 on the standard scale
S.33(1)(i)Contravention of a requirement in a s.27(1) noticeUnlimited fineUnlimited fine
S.33(1)(j)Unauthorised disclosure of information by an inspectorUnlimited fineUnlimited fine
S.33(1)(k) Knowingly or recklessly making a false statement to an inspectorUnlimited fineUnlimited fine
S.33(1)(l)Intentionally making a false entry in a document required to be kept, with intent to deceive Unlimited fineUnlimited fine
S.33(1)(m) Forging, using or possessing a document required by statute, with intent to deceiveUnlimited fineUnlimited fine
S.33(1)(n)Pretending to be an inspectorUnlimited fine
S.33(1)(o)Failing to comply with a s.42 court order Six months' imprisonment and unlimited fineTwo years' imprisonment and unlimited fine

Further, for offences triable on indictment, up to two years' imprisonment may be imposed on a guilty individual where there is (s.33(4)):

These penalties are maxima and guideline sentencing practice is published by the Sentencing Guidelines Council. [3] The maximum fines available for many regulation offences used to be relatively low at the magistrates court, however the Health and Safety (Offences) Act 2008, [4] and Section 85 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 [5] (which came into force on 16 January 2009 and 12 March 2015 respectively) had the effect of increasing the level of most fines available for magistrates’ courts to an unlimited fine (previously £20,000 for most health and safety offences). However, the increase will only apply in respect of offences committed after 12 March 2015.

Courts in England and Wales are able to order convicted persons to pay the costs of their prosecution. In general, courts will only award a nominal sum, not the full economic cost. However, in the specific case of health and safety prosecution, the court will award the totality of prosecution costs against the offender. [6] [7]

The Regulatory Enforcement and Sanctions Act 2008 will give a Minister of the Crown the power to introduce, by Statutory Instrument, a system of fixed penalty notices for the section 33 offences. [8]

Pre-1974 legislation

As of 2008, there are residual provisions of pre-1974 health and safety acts that still impose criminal responsibility, for example the Factories Act 1961 and the Offices, Shops and Railway Premises Act 1963. Breach of these residual provisions is still punishable on summary conviction in a magistrates' court by a fine of up to £400 or, on indictment in the Crown Court, imprisonment for up to two years and an unlimited fine. [9] [10]

Fire Precautions Act 1971

Many workplaces require fire certificates and use of premises without a certificate is a crime punishable, on summary conviction in a magistrates' court with a £400 fine, and on indictment in the Crown Court with an unlimited fine and up to two years' imprisonment. [11] It is also an offence to forge a certificate or to give false information to an inspector. Offenders can, on summary conviction, be fined up to level 5 on the standard scale. [12]

Employers' Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969

This Act requires that employers carry insurance against the personal injury of their employees. This insurance is referred to as Employer's Liability Compulsory Insurance (ELCI). As well as being insured, employers must post details of the insurance for staff to see. This requirement applies to most companies; exemptions include public organisations and certain micro companies. Offenders can be sentenced, on summary conviction in the Magistrates' Court, to a fine of up to level 4 on the standard scale. [13]

Offences under REACH

These European Union regulations are "directly applicable" to people and establishments in member states. They came into operation on 1 June 2008 and the government of the United Kingdom was required to have established penalties for any breach by 1 December 2008. [14] The REACH Enforcement Regulations 2008 [15] came into force on 1 December 2008, imposing penalties on summary conviction of fines up to the statutory maximum and up to three months' imprisonment, and on indictment of unlimited fines and up to two years' imprisonment. [16]

Manslaughter

Where an individual's breach of duty of care causes death and is so serious a breach that it ought to be considered criminal, an individual can be convicted on indictment of gross negligence manslaughter and sentenced to up to life imprisonment. From 6 April 2008, the offence of gross negligence manslaughter no longer applies to corporations. [17]

Corporate manslaughter and corporate homicide

On 6 April 2008, a new regime of corporate manslaughter came into effect in the UK. A corporation can be convicted on indictment and subjected to an unlimited fine in addition to having to put right its shortcomings and advertise its failures.

Crown Censure

In the UK the Crown cannot be prosecuted for breaches of the law even where it has no exemption, such as from the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act. A Crown Censure is the method by which the Health and Safety Executive records, but for Crown immunity, there would be sufficient evidence to secure a conviction against the Crown. [18]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indictable offence</span> Offence which can only be tried on an indictment after a preliminary hearing

In many common law jurisdictions, an indictable offence is an offence which can only be tried on an indictment after a preliminary hearing to determine whether there is a prima facie case to answer or by a grand jury. A similar concept in the United States is known as a felony, which for federal crimes, also requires an indictment. In Scotland, which is a hybrid common law jurisdiction, the procurator fiscal will commence solemn proceedings for serious crimes to be prosecuted on indictment before a jury.

A hybrid offence, dual offence, Crown option offence, dual procedure offence, offence triable either way, or wobbler is one of the special class offences in the common law jurisdictions where the case may be prosecuted either summarily or on indictment. In the United States, an alternative misdemeanor/felony offense lists both county jail and state prison as possible punishment, for example, theft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Magistrates' court (England and Wales)</span> Lower court in England and Wales

In England and Wales, a magistrates' court is a lower court which hears matters relating to summary offences and some triable either-way matters. Some civil law issues are also decided here, notably family proceedings. In 2010, there were 320 magistrates' courts in England and Wales; by 2020, a decade later, 164 of those had closed. The jurisdiction of magistrates' courts and rules governing them are set out in the Magistrates' Courts Act 1980.

Summary jurisdiction, in the widest sense of the phrase, in English law includes the power asserted by courts of record to deal brevi manu with contempts of court without the intervention of a jury. Probably the power was originally exercisable only when the fact was notorious, i.e. done in presence of the court. But it has long been exercised as to extra curial contempts.

A discharge is a type of sentence imposed by a court whereby no punishment is imposed.

False accounting is a legal term for a type of fraud, considered a statutory offence in England and Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Environmental Protection Act 1990</span> United Kingdom legislation

The Environmental Protection Act 1990 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that as of 2008 defines, within England and Wales and Scotland, the fundamental structure and authority for waste management and control of emissions into the environment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crime and Disorder Act 1998</span> United Kingdom legislation

The Crime and Disorder Act 1998 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Act was published on 2 December 1997 and received royal assent in July 1998. Its key areas were the introduction of Anti-Social Behaviour Orders, Sex Offender Orders, Parenting Orders, granting local authorities more responsibilities with regards to strategies for reducing crime and disorder, and the introduction of law specific to 'racially aggravated' offences. The Act also abolished rebuttable presumption that a child is doli incapax and formally abolished the death penalty for the last civilian offences carrying it, namely treason and piracy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Criminal Law Act 1977</span> United Kingdom legislation

The Criminal Law Act 1977 is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Most of it only applies to England and Wales. It creates the offence of conspiracy in English law. It also created offences concerned with criminal trespass in premises, made changes to sentencing, and created an offence of falsely reporting the existence of a bomb.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Serious Crime Act 2007</span> United Kingdom legislation

The Serious Crime Act 2007 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that makes several radical changes to English criminal law. In particular, it creates a new scheme of serious crime prevention orders to frustrate crime in England and Wales and in Northern Ireland, replaces the common law crime of incitement with a statutory offence of encouraging or assisting crime, makes provision as to disclosure and information sharing in order to prevent fraud, and abolishes the Assets Recovery Agency creating a new regime for the recovery of the proceeds of crime.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Consumer Protection Act 1987</span> United Kingdom legislation

The Consumer Protection Act 1987 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which made important changes to the consumer law of the United Kingdom. Part 1 implemented European Community (EC) Directive 85/374/EEC, the product liability directive, by introducing a regime of strict liability for damage arising from defective products. Part 2 created government powers to regulate the safety of consumer products through Statutory Instruments. Part 3 defined a criminal offence of giving a misleading price indication.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">General Product Safety Regulations 2005</span> United Kingdom legislation

The General Product Safety Regulations 2005 is a 2005 statutory instrument of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that demands that "No producer shall [supply or] place a [consumer] product on the market unless the product is a safe product" and provides broad enforcement powers. The regulations implemented European Union directive 2001/95/EC and revoked the General Product Safety Regulations 1994. The regulations also repealed section 10 of the Consumer Protection Act 1987 which had previously imposed a more limited general safety requirement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008</span> United Kingdom legislation

The Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which makes significant changes in many areas of the criminal justice system in England and Wales and, to a lesser extent, in Scotland and Northern Ireland. In particular, it changes the law relating to custodial sentences and the early release of prisoners to reduce prison overcrowding, which reached crisis levels in 2008. It also reduces the right of prison officers to take industrial action, and changed the law on the deportation of foreign criminals. It received royal assent on 8 May 2008, but most of its provisions came into force on various later dates. Many sections came into force on 14 July 2008.

Criminal costs are financial penalties awarded against convicted criminals, in addition to the sentence they receive, in recognition of the costs of the court in bringing the prosecution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Offices, Shops and Railway Premises Act 1963</span> United Kingdom legislation

The Offices, Shops and Railway Premises Act 1963 is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. At the time of its passage, the Act was intended to extend the protection of workplace health, safety and welfare under the Factories Act 1961 to other employees in Great Britain. Though as of 2008 some of it remains in force, it has largely been superseded by the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and regulations made under it.

Polygamous marriages may not be performed in the United Kingdom, and if a polygamous marriage is performed, the already-married person may be guilty of the crime of bigamy under section 11 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Code of Criminal Procedure (India)</span> Erstwhile Code of Criminal Law of India

The Code of Criminal Procedure, commonly called Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), was the main legislation on procedure for administration of substantive criminal law in India. It was enacted in 1973 and came into force on 1 April 1974. It provides the machinery for the investigation of crime, apprehension of suspected criminals, collection of evidence, determination of guilt or innocence of the accused person and the determination of punishment of the guilty. It also deals with public nuisance, prevention of offences and maintenance of wife, child and parents.

Sentencing in England and Wales refers to a bench of magistrates or district judge in a magistrate's court or a judge in the Crown Court passing sentence on a person found guilty of a criminal offence. In deciding the sentence, the court will take into account a number of factors: the type of offence and how serious it is, the timing of any plea of guilty, the defendant's character and antecedents, including their criminal record and the defendant's personal circumstances such as their financial circumstances in the case of a fine being imposed.

Assault with intent to resist arrest is a statutory offence of aggravated assault in England and Wales and Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Health and Safety (Offences) Act 2008</span> United Kingdom legislation

The Health and Safety (Offences) Act 2008 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Its purpose was to change the "mode of trial" and maximum penalty available for certain offences against health and safety legislation. It was passed on 16 October 2008.

References

  1. Interpretation Act 1978, s.5
  2. Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, s.33
  3. "(K) Miscellaneous offences - Health and Safety offences". Guideline Judgements Case Compendium. Sentencing Guidelines Council. 2005. Archived from the original on 3 October 2006. Retrieved 8 March 2008.
  4. 2008 c.20
  5. "Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012". www.legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 7 June 2016.
  6. R v. Associated Octel Ltd (Costs) [1996] EWCA Crim 1237
  7. Health and Safety Executive (2007). "Costs". Enforcement Guide. Archived from the original on 19 July 2008. Retrieved 6 April 2008.
  8. Regulatory Enforcement and Sanctions Act 2008, ss.36, 39-41/ Schs.5-6
  9. Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, s.33(3)
  10. "Sentencing and costs – Penalties". Enforcement Guide. Health and Safety Executive. Archived from the original on 16 May 2008. Retrieved 15 July 2008.
  11. Fire Precautions Act 1971, s.7
  12. Fire Precautions Act 1971, s.22
  13. Employers' Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969, s.5
  14. "Proposals for the UK enforcement of the EU 'REACH' chemicals regulation". Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. 13 March 2008. Archived from the original on 11 November 2007. Retrieved 3 April 2008.
  15. SI 2008/2852
  16. Reg.1
  17. Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007, s.20
  18. HSE, Enforcement against Crown bodies , Retrieved 5 November 2015

Bibliography