Nailed it… Or Not: When Enforcement Notices Bring the Hammer Down

The Health and Safety Executive (‘HSE’) has recently reported on a prosecution it brought following a breach of a Prohibition Notice. 

What is a Prohibition Notice? 

Prohibition and Improvement Notices are issued when a duty holder fails to meet their legal obligations and have the purpose of preventing harm, ensuring compliance with health and safety law, and securing justice. Such notices may require the duty holder to take action, make improvements, or stop dangerous activities.

A Prohibition Notice may be served where an inspector believes activities are being (or likely to be) carried on and involve a risk of serious personal injury. They can have immediate impact preventing the continued activity or use of equipment until the required changes are made.

An inspector can withdraw the Prohibition Notice at any time before the date on which it takes effect. However, if it is drafted to take immediate effect then the only way to challenge it is by an appeal. 

An appeal for a Prohibition Notice can be made to the Employment Tribunal within 21 days. The Employment Tribunal may, on application, suspend the notice until the appeal hearing, but suspension is not automatic. The effect of this is that they remain in force whilst the appeal is ongoing.

Why was a Prohibition Notice served in this case? 

The HSE reported that construction workers were identified working on a roof area where they were at serious risk of falling from a height. No measures had been taken to protect them and unplanned and unsafe demolition work had also left the building structure at risk of collapse. The HSE therefore issued a Prohibition Notice against the Defendant which should have meant that work should have ceased at the construction site to prevent risk of injury – but, it was ignored. The Defendant also failed to turn up at Court which prevented court proceedings from happening. 

What happened next?

When proceedings finally resumed, the Defendant was sentenced to: 20 weeks imprisonment, 200 hours of unpaid work, 10 days of rehabilitation, and £12,151 payable in costs.

Why does it matter? 

The law requires employees to ensure people at their workplace are safe and healthy. This case underlines that the HSE takes action against those who fail to comply with enforcement notices.

If you have any questions relating to Enforcement Notices, please contact one of our health and safety team including Charlotte Whitaker, Guy Bastable or Ben Davies. 

With thanks to Charlotte Sinclair for writing this article. 

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