Health And safety fines are 142% more expensive than compliance costs
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UK businesses in breach of health and safety regulations could be hit with a fine 142% higher than what it costs to comply with the measures annually. In 2020, businesses were individually fined £106,984 on average, while complying with the measures costs as much as £62,700 less (£44,214 on average). Small businesses with under 50 employees pay even less for compliance — around £6,687 a year, which is a whopping £100,297 less than the average fine. Complying with health and safety regulations is essential for businesses to avoid fines, keep employees happy and healthy, and eliminate lost working days.
Employee injury and lost working days
In 2019-2020, around 38.8 million working days were lost as a result of work-related poor health as well as non-fatal workplace accidents and injuries. Mental health issues like depression, stress, and anxiety were responsible for 17.9 million lost days, while musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) accounted for 8.9 million days. Muscle strains and low back injuries, tendinitis, and carpal tunnel syndrome are some of the most common workplace MSDs. When an employee injures his or herself at work, the situation soon becomes complicated both financially and legally. If they need to take time off work to recover, the employee may be able to seek compensation for loss of future income and other damages, FVF Law Firm explains. Regardless of who is ultimately liable for the injury, employees are legally entitled to representation if their case warrants it.
Mitigating risk
It’s not always easy to ascertain how compliant your business is with health and safety regulations. Fortunately, the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) have issued guidelines to help businesses avoid and minimise fines. According to the IOSH, the main indicators that up your risk of being issued with a large fine include: a bad track record with health and safety; cost-cutting on health and safety measures; purposeful concealment of illegal activity; or defying a court order. To avoid incurring expensive fines, the IOSH also recommends: implementing effective health and safety standards; maintaining a clean health and safety record (which includes no past breaches); providing proof of action taken to fix a problem voluntarily; and fully cooperating with any investigation.
Health and safety breaches can get expensive. By mitigating risk, businesses can avoid costly fines, minimise employee accidents and injuries, and eliminate lost work days.
