From the 6th April 2019, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) have increased Fee For Intervention (FFI) Recovery Charges from £129 to £154 per hour.
What is Fee For Intervention (FFI)?
FFI is used by the HSE to recover costs associated with actions and works taken by the HSE when they identify a “Material Breach” of Health and Safety Law. It is important to remember that dutyholders will not be charged anything by the HSE where there is no material breach present and the HSE must justify each material breach adequately.
Regulation 22 of “The Health and Safety and Nuclear (Fees) Regulations 2016” states that fees are payable if –
(a) a person is contravening or has contravened one or more of the relevant statutory provisions for which the Executive is the enforcing authority; and
(b) an inspector is of the opinion that that person is doing so or has done so, and notifies that person in writing of that opinion,
Where FFI has been charged, the dutyholder must pay within 30 days of receiving the invoice.
FFI is applicable to any dutyholder in an industry that the HSE is the enforcing authority.
What is deemed a Material Breach?
Where a HSE Inspector identifies a condition that they consider to be a serious enough breach of Health and Safety Law that they must formally write to the business requiring actions to be taken to deal with the condition, this is deemed a material breach.
Preventing a Material Breach
It sounds so obvious but suitable and pro-active Health and Safety Management is the most effective way to prevent a material breach (and in turn any potential FFI charges). Some key areas to look at are –
- Making sure your business has suitable systems and procedures in place that are appropriate for your business size and activities. Don’t over complicate it, make Health and Safety proportional and accessible for your workforce.
- Assess the hazards and risks of your work activities and implement safe systems of work that provide practicable and appropriate controls to help protect your workforce and the wider public.
- Allocate the right time and resource to be able to effectively implement and manage Health and Safety.
- Have access to competent sources of Health and Safety Advice and Information so you know what the requirements are of your business.
- Invest in your workforce and upskill them to make sure they have the right training and knowledge.
- Monitor and Review your Health and Safety systems to check that they are suitable and effective. Involve members of your workforce to promote feedback that can be used to support your business to continually improve.
Learn more about FFI
You can learn more about FFI from the HSE website, where they have put together a topic on the subject, advising in more depth on how FFI is enforced and the processes – http://www.hse.gov.uk/fee-for-intervention/index.htm
You can find Regulation 22 of “The Health and Safety and Nuclear (Fees) Regulations 2016” mentioned above here – http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2016/253/regulation/22/made
If you think you need some additional help with Health and Safety, then don’t hesitate to get in touch with the Orchard Compliance Solutions team on 0800 118 1674 or info@orchardcompliance.co.uk. You can find more information on our range of services here.
