Accidents happen, but what organisations do once an incident occurs will have repercussions on how an investigation proceeds and its effects on the organisation concerned. The primary legislation used to enforce health and safety in England and Wales is the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is the lead regulator under the Act and is responsible for enforcement of it in relation to higher risk settings such as construction, factories, and agriculture. Local authorities have responsibility under the Act in relation to lower risk settings like retail, leisure, and office premises. Penalties following conviction for breaches of the Act can be significant. Fines on conviction are now based on the sentencing guidelines in the Health and Safety Offences, Corporate Manslaughter and Food Safety and Hygiene Offences, Definitive Guideline. The obligation to formally report a health and safety incident itself is governed by the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 – known as RIDDOR. This places an obligation on employers and those responsible for work premises to report deaths, certain types of injury, diseases, and dangerous occurrences to the regulator. It is a criminal offence to breach the notification requirements of RIDDOR. An incident occurs When a health and safety incident occurs, a check should be undertaken to determine whether the incident is notifiable to the regulator under RIDDOR. If it is reportable, the relevant enforcing authority must be informed by the quickest practicable means without delay; a RIDDOR report must be submitted within 10 days of the incident unless the accident results in a more than sevenday incapacitation of a worker which itself must be notified within 15 days of the incident. Once a RIDDOR report has been submitted, the HSE is likely to conduct a site inspection and may commence a formal investigation. If there has been a workplace fatality, the WorkRelated Deaths Protocol gives the police primacy over the investigation during the interregnum whilst they consider whether to investigate offences of corporate manslaughter and/or gross negligence manslaughter. In circumstances where no manslaughter investigation is to take place, or in cases where there is no fatality, the HSE or local authorities will lead the investigation. There will often be much going on in the immediate aftermath of an incident. This means it is important to get lawyers on site as swiftly as possible to provide advice to the company and support those dealing with the incident. It is also important to have an emergency plan in place prior to such incidents that can be put into action in the event of an incident. This should include having someone in place to co-ordinate with the emergency services and the 12 AFTERMARKET MARCH 2024 BUSINESS www.aftermarketonline.net HANDLING A HEALTH AND SAFETY INVESTIGATION H&S guidelines have tightened up to the point – deliberately – so organisations can’t do anything but obey the law BY Parminder Takhar, Litigator, commercial litigation department, Wright Hassall
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