Maximum Penalties
If found guilty under the Health and Safety at Work Act by placing employees or others at risk, the directors and owners of a business could face the following penalties:
  • £20,000 for breaches of sections 2-6.
  • £20,000 and / or six months imprisonment for failure to comply with improvement / prohibition notices.
  • £5,000 for breaches of the remaining sections of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.
  • Directors and owners could also face a civil charge of negligence and further compensatory penalties.

In any case where the offence is considered sufficiently serious, it may be referred to a higher court, where penalties include unlimited fines, up to two years ' imprisonment, or both.

Section Index