The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has confirmed that it will seek to recover costs from October from those who break health and safety laws.
If the HSE spends time and effort helping to put matter right through investigating or taking enforcement action, then it proposes to charge £124 per hour for this work for 2012/13.
The Fee for Intervention (FFI) will start on 1 October 2012, subject to Parliamentary approval.
Law-abiding businesses will not be charged.
HSE programme director Gordon MacDonald said: “Confirming the date for the start of Fee for Intervention and publishing the guidance will give dutyholders clarity and certainty about the start of the scheme and what they can expect.
“We have worked with industry representatives in shaping the final form of the scheme and the published guidance explains how the scheme will work and what businesses can do to comply with the law and avoid incurring a fee.
“It is right that those who break the law should pay their fair share of the costs to put things right – and not the public purse. Firms who manage workplace risks properly will not pay.”
The FFI was recommended by the HSE Board to ministers in December 2011.
