Health and safety prosecutions
Investigations and prosecutions following a workplace incident.
How we can help
- Advising immediately after a serious incident
- Managing the enforcement body’s investigation and information requests
- Preparing the business and individuals for interviews under caution
- Advising on improvement and prohibition notices, and appeals
- Defending prosecutions in the magistrates and Crown Court
- Advising directors on personal liability and disqualification risk
What happens next
- Call us as soon as a serious incident occurs, before the investigation begins.
- We advise on immediate steps, preservation of evidence and engagement.
- We manage the investigation and defend any prosecution.
Fees for this work
Quoted individually. Check your insurance — many commercial policies include legal expenses cover for regulatory defence.
Common questions
What should we do immediately after an incident?
Make the area safe, comply with reporting obligations, preserve evidence and records, and take advice before anyone gives an account. Internal investigations conducted without thought about privilege frequently become the prosecution’s best evidence.
How are fines calculated?
By reference to culpability, the seriousness of the risk and the organisation’s turnover. Fines for larger businesses can be very substantial, and the calculation is far less related to whether anyone was actually harmed than most people expect.
Can directors be personally liable?
Yes, where an offence is committed with their consent or connivance, or is attributable to their neglect. Custodial sentences and disqualification are both possible, which is why individuals may need separate advice from the business.
Should we appeal an improvement notice?
There is a short period in which to appeal, and appealing suspends the notice. Whether it is worth doing depends on the operational impact and the strength of the challenge, and that needs assessing quickly.
Tell us what's happened
Confidential, reviewed by a solicitor, answered within one working day.