How HSE regulates risks to health and safety from work activities

This content is also available in Welsh translation.

Introduction

HSE regulates to protect people against ill health, injury or death from work activities in Great Britain.

We regulate risks within the scope of the Health and Safety at Work Act and associated regulations. This includes protecting:

workers against potential risks of ill health, injury or death due to work, such as in manufacturing, health and social care, construction, waste and recycling, and agriculture
the public and workers against potential risks of incidents with the potential to harm many people. For example, this can include fire, explosion or release of chemicals from a chemical installation or pipeline, fire on an offshore oil platform, or release of a hazardous pathogen from a laboratory
the public against potential risks to their health and safety from work activities such as construction sites and fairgrounds

The Health and Safety at Work Act underpins our goal-setting, risk-based, proportionate regulatory approach and solutions to protect people while enabling innovation and growth.

We use best available evidence and awareness of the work and business environment to inform our approach.

Our approach shapes our:

advice to ministers
national and international regulatory liaison
interventions to influence, encourage and support all dutyholders to comply with their legal responsibilities
interventions to hold to account those who break the law, and secure justice for victims and their families
priorities for research to build the evidence we need and our actions to encourage others to support and undertake research

Our approach ensures that we concentrate on the most serious risks and target dutyholders with the worst risk management record.

Who this information is for and what it covers

This information is to support openness and transparency about how we regulate to protect people against risks to their health and safety arising from work activities.

This information is about risks that are within the scope of the Health and Safety at Work Act and associated legislation. We set out the main features of our goal-setting, evidence-based, proportionate regulatory approach and targeted blend of interventions.

The primary responsibility for managing risk to health and safety lies with the dutyholders. A dutyholder is the person or organisation that creates the risk. They are legally responsible for managing and controlling risks under health and safety law.

The information here does not:

provide guidance or information for dutyholders on what they need to do or how they should make decisions
provide information for workers on their rights and responsibilities. Visit our guide for workers
cover how HSE inspectors make decisions on dutyholders’ compliance with the law. Visit our Enforcement Policy Statement for information on how HSE inspectors make decision on dutyholders’ compliance with the law

Further information about our regulatory approach

HSE’s regulatory remit also includes operating regimes in Great Britain so that businesses can use, manufacture and trade products and chemicals in a way that does not put people or the environment at risk.

Find out more on our role as a market surveillance authority.

More information on how we regulate the manufacturing, supplying and use of chemicals:

We also oversee the safety and performance of all buildings in England - visit our webpages on the Building Safety Regulator.

We give information about our regulatory approach across our full remit in our:

strategy 2022-2032 - Protecting people and places
Business Plan - which sets out a summary of what we plan to do each year to deliver our strategy
Annual report and accounts - which sets out a summary of what we have done
Annual science review - which gives case studies that illustrate how we use science and evidence to protect people and places

The main features of our regulatory approach to protect people

We are an independent regulator. Our regulatory approach is goal-setting, targeted, proportionate and evidence-based. Our regulatory activities protect people against risks to their health and safety from work activities while enabling innovation.

Our strategy

At a high level, the HSE Board takes account of the health and safety performance across Great Britain. The Board sets HSE's strategy that guides all those with a role to play in delivering improved standards in health and safety performance as part of our wider mission to protect people and places.

Central policy and legislation

We have a central policy role for protecting people against risks to health and safety from work in Great Britain.

We advise ministers on options and effective approaches to protect people against risks to their health and safety, this includes non-legislative interventions as well as legislation.

Advising ministers on legislation

We advise ministers on proposed amendments to, withdrawal of, or new legislation associated with the Health and Safety at Work Act. Legislation means Acts and Regulations approved by Parliament.

A review of legislation can be prompted by, for instance:

changing technologies and working practices
new evidence on risks to health and safety
public concerns and government priorities

We also conduct Post Implementation Reviews for certain pieces of legislation under the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act. We follow best practice principles for these reviews.

Stakeholder consultation on legislative proposals

We consult stakeholders on all proposals for changes to legislation or other policy decisions which have the force of law such as an Approved Code of Practice. Our stakeholders include:

businesses, employers and trade associations
workers, trade unions, and health and safety representatives
professional bodies
advocacy groups for people concerned by health and safety issues
educational and training organisations that provide health and safety services

HSE’s Consultations Hub gives our stakeholder consultations across our full regulatory remit.

Assessment of legislative proposals

Our assessment of proposals follows the approach in the UK Better Regulation Framework guidance. Stakeholder consultation findings are core to our assessment. We would only propose change to dutyholders’ legal responsibilities that:

amend requirements, if our assessment demonstrates that alternatives such as guidance, a voluntary industry code of practice, or a British Standard could not adequately protect people
remove requirements, if these are no longer needed to protect people

Examples of HSE engagement with stakeholders about legislation

Carbon capture and storage (CCS)

Carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) is an emergent technology to support net zero carbon emissions. Carbon dioxide (CO2) released in power generation or industrial facilities is used or transported by pipeline to permanent underground storage.

We are engaging with operators seeking to establish CCUS industrial clusters in Great Britain. As part of our work to ensure that the regulatory framework remains fit for purpose to protect people, we are keeping existing legislation under review.

HSE’s 2023 Post-Implementation Review of the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR)

Stakeholder consultation provided core information for our 2023 Post-Implementation Review of the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR). The review led to changes to:

improve the clarity of our RIDDOR information for dutyholders
simplify our online reporting forms so that they are easier for dutyholders to use and give better information about health and safety

The Health and Safety at Work Act

The Health and Safety at Work Act is the main law governing health and safety at work in Great Britain. It sets out the general duties of dutyholders.

It also sets out what dutyholders must achieve, but not how they should achieve it. Within the general duties, dutyholders must take measures to protect people from risks ‘so far as is reasonably practicable’ (SFAIRP).

This goal-setting approach provides a stable legislative framework for innovators, investors and industry that:

gives dutyholders discretion to put sensible and proportionate measures in place to protect people
allows creativity and improvements in protective measures
enables technological innovation and new working practices

The associated regulations are also goal setting wherever possible. However, this is not the case for:

certain work activities and substances with the potential for higher risks to people if dutyholders do not effectively manage the risk. Where necessary, the law sets out specific requirements on dutyholders
certain work activities of societal concern that have the potential to create a high risk to people if dutyholders do not effectively manage the risk. Dutyholders may only undertake these work activities if they have the consent of HSE. Visit our permissioning and licensing webpages for more information.

Working with other regulators nationally and internationally

We work with other regulators in Great Britain to enforce the law. We also work with government departments to support wider government policies, and undertake national and international regulatory liaison.

Working with other regulators to enforce the law in Great Britain

We work with other regulators for Great Britain to enforce the law where:

health and safety at work legislation overlaps with more specific law enforced by other regulators
other regulators enforce health and safety at work legislation

We work collaboratively with these regulators to:

ensure the most appropriate regulator intervenes
share relevant intelligence when appropriate
coordinate joint regulatory activities where appropriate
maintain common standards
act as a joint ‘Competent Authority’ under specific legislation
support them to deliver their regulatory remit

Examples of how HSE works with other regulators

Joint Competent Authority enforcing the Control of Major Accident Hazards (COMAH) Regulations

HSE, the Office for Nuclear Regulation and the environmental agencies for Scotland, England and Wales, work together as the joint Competent Authority enforcing the Control of Major Accident Hazards (COMAH) Regulations. We work together to:

ensure the most appropriate regulator intervenes to protect people and the environment against the potential risk of major incidents at onshore installations such as chemical plant and nuclear power stations
coordinate our intervention approach to minimise information requests on dutyholders

Co-regulatory partnership with local authorities

Local authorities carry out inspection and enforcement for health and safety for many work sectors in Great Britain. They generally cover:

retail
wholesale distribution
warehousing
residential care homes (without nursing)
hotel and catering premises
offices
consumer and leisure industries

Local authorities and HSE have a joint Statement of Commitment for our co-regulatory partnership, supported by the Society of Chief Officers of Environmental Health in Scotland, the Welsh Local Government Association, and the Local Government Association.

Our joint HSE and Local Authority Enforcement Liaison Committee (HELA) provides strategic oversight of our partnership to maximise our effectiveness and support information sharing.

Visit our memoranda of understanding page for a full list of other regulators that HSE works with, including the Office of Rail and Road Regulation.

Supporting delivery of wider government policies

We work with government departments to ensure that proportionate health and safety at work supports the delivery of wider government policies.

Examples of HSE supporting wider government policies

Supporting the cross-government agenda on net zero technologies

We actively support the cross-government agenda on net zero technologies. Our policymakers, operational specialists and scientists are working with other regulators, government departments, businesses and other stakeholders to ensure a joined-up approach to regulation.

Scientists at our laboratory carry out collaborative research nationally and internationally in engagement with industry and other regulators. This is meeting key evidence needs to enable the safe introduction of new technologies across power generation, heat, transport and industrial processes.

Supporting the cross-government health and work agenda

We support the cross-government health and work agenda. With the support of our partners, we developed principles-based best practice guidance to encourage early and supportive action from employers for disabled workers and workers with long-term health conditions.

Our partners include:

Federation of Small Businesses
Institution of Occupational Health and Safety
Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS)
Joint Health and Work Unit (cross-government)

Our guidance on ‘Principles to support disabled workers and workers with long-term health conditions in work’, aims to be clear and helpful for employers and workers. We have a talking toolkit to help them start conversations that might be difficult. The purpose is to encourage culture change to make workplaces more welcoming and trusting so workers can thrive in their role.

Liaising nationally and internationally with regulators and institutions

We liaise with other regulators and health and safety institutions nationally and internationally to share regulatory practice, information on health and safety trends, and current and emerging challenges.

For example, we are active within, or cooperating and assisting with:

UK Health and Safety Regulators’ Network (UKHSRN)
International Association of Labour Inspection (IALI)
United Nations agencies and activities including the International Labour Organization (ILO) and, for ionising radiation, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) working groups and activities
G20 intergovernmental forum’s Occupational Health and Safety Network

Example of HSE liaising with international regulators

We represent the UK on the International Regulators Forum (IRF) for offshore oil and gas activities and the North Sea Offshore Authorities Forum (NSOAF).

NSOAF brings together regulators from Denmark, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway and the UK. The NSOAF specialist subgroups exchange information and develop common positions.

Joint activities undertaken by NSOAF include multinational audits of safe operation of drilling installations and communication of the lessons learned. NSOAF works to reduce potential difficulties for dutyholders operating in the North Sea due to differences in national regulatory safety regimes and requirements and enable safe innovation.

For example, the NSOAF regulators work together to:

develop safety training standards
promote common technical specifications that are safety critical for infrastructure such as subsea pipelines operating between countries and cranes used to install wind turbines
share knowledge and understanding on emergent technologies including carbon capture and storage

Interventions

Our interventions encourage and support dutyholders to comply with their legal responsibilities to protect people against risks to their health and safety. We take proportionate enforcement action to hold to account those who break the law and to secure justice for victims and their families.

Our approach:

ensures that we concentrate on the most serious risks to health and safety and target dutyholders with the worst risk management record
anticipates potential future risks from new and emergent technologies and changing working practices to enable safe innovation
acts to achieve the right regulatory balance between supporting safe business practice and protecting workers and the public

Our main interventions

We use a targeted blend of interventions to deliver our strategy and maximise our impact. The main interventions we use are:

communication, guidance, advice and information
collaboration and partnership
following up reports of health and safety issues and incidents
inspection of work activities and workplaces
investigation of incidents
enforcement including providing advice, serving notices and prosecution

We communicate lessons learned from all interventions to amplify their effectiveness.

Selection and review of interventions

Our decisions on interventions are informed by factors including:

ill-health, injury, fatality and dangerous occurrence rates, trends and drivers
the number and demographics of people at risk
scientific evidence on risk causation, prevention and control
evidence and intelligence on dutyholder awareness of their legal responsibilities, behaviours towards compliance, and implementation of effective control measures
potential for harm from new and emergent technologies and technology readiness levels
minimising compliance costs for dutyholders

Our blend of interventions includes targeted communication and inspection campaigns. Our annual Business Plan sets out our planned campaigns.

For work activities that take place under our permissioning and licensing, our interventions are proportionate to the risks and the dutyholder performance. For example, our intervention approach for industrial major hazards, such as certain onshore chemical process plant and offshore oil and gas installations, is set out in the Major Hazard Regulatory Model.

We keep our interventions under review to ensure we are using the most efficient and effective approaches to protect workers and the public.

Communication, guidance, advice and information

Our aim is to give dutyholders the confidence to manage risks effectively and proportionately to protect people. We:

increase awareness about risks and dutyholders’ legal responsibilities
encourage positive behaviours towards compliance with the law to prevent harm to people
support dutyholders to understand the law and how to implement sensible risk control measures

Our guidance and Approved Codes of Practice (ACOPs) have a legal status. Visit our page on legal status of HSE guidance and ACOPs.

Our guidance, information and advice covers:

health and safety fundamentals such as managing health and safety
specific work activities with the potential to create a higher risk to people if dutyholders do not put effective control measures in place. For example, activities that can expose workers to silica dust or to dangerously loud noise

We operate a service to support dutyholders, workers, members of the public and other stakeholders with specific questions on health and safety at work. Find out more on our ask us about health and safety webpage.

Communication approaches

We are continually working to use new technologies and innovative methods of communication to improve, target and deliver key health and safety messages and guidance.

Our website is our primary communication channel and receives over 75 million page views a year. Our free online communications include:

webinars, toolkits, videos and podcasts with health and safety information and advice
our ebulletin service that gives health and safety news and updates, as well as invites to participation in consultation and research
safety alerts and notices
the outcome of significant enforcement actions

Our targeted communication campaigns reach out to workers, dutyholders and other stakeholders, helping to change behaviours and prevent harm to people

Examples of HSE’s communication approaches

Communications to improve asbestos awareness and dutyholder compliance

We launched the ‘Asbestos and you’ and ‘Asbestos: Your duty’ communication campaigns in 2023 and 2024. The aim is to raise awareness by tradespeople of the ongoing risks from asbestos in buildings and to drive behaviour change by dutyholders to put effective measures in place to protect workers and the public.

We have published clearer, updated guidance for dutyholders. This has been developed and piloted with industry stakeholders to better meet their needs.

We have also produced videos for workers about asbestos which are presented by HSE’s Chief Medical Adviser.

The campaigns are delivered in collaboration with stakeholders. These include industry bodies, trade unions and suppliers of protective equipment to drive a culture of safely managing asbestos in the building industry and those responsible for buildings.

Toolkit for assessing musculoskeletal disorders

HSE’s toolkit for musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) is a collection of practical, online tools to help employers to protect workers against risks to their health from work activities involving:

lifting and carrying
pushing and pulling
repetitive tasks and awkward postures

Work-related MSDs are widespread and have a significant impact on workers, employers and the wider economy. HSE ergonomists developed the tools using research to ensure that they are user-friendly, require minimal expert knowledge to use, and support our good practice guidance.

Working with our industry partners, we shared the toolkit with employers as part of our musculoskeletal disorders campaign, as well as through our eBulletins and website.

Practical guidance and information on health and safety in agriculture

Our agriculture webpages provide a gateway to our practical guidance and information to support employers and workers, including self-employed people, to achieve good standards of health and safety.

Our agriculture ebulletins give health and safety news and information and have over 60,000 subscribers. Our agriculture communication campaigns are delivered in collaboration with partners who are committed to amplifying our influence and impact.

Training and events

Our programme of health and safety events, such as training courses, help to increase awareness, understanding and competence on current and emerging health and safety challenges and how they can be addressed. Our programme engages with over 20,000 people a year.

HSE experts design our events with the support of industry experts and wider government where appropriate. Our approach combines regulatory insight, scientific expertise and real-world experience for maximum impact.

Example of an HSE training course

Our biosafety training course is for dutyholders for high-containment microbiology laboratories used for work with hazardous biological agents, such as certain viruses and bacteria.

Dutyholders with these facilities include biotechnology industries, NHS diagnostic laboratories and university research laboratories.

Our specialist inspectors and microbiologists deliver the one-week course held at our Science and Research Centre in Buxton. The course supports our guidance and promotes effective, practical risk control to protect people.

Encouraging others to set standards and produce guidance and training

We encourage trade and industry bodies, organisations for health and safety professionals, standards bodies including the British Standards Institute, and other stakeholders to produce guidance, advice and training.

We encourage designers, suppliers, equipment manufacturers and educational organisations to set appropriate health and safety standards for the products and services they provide.

Collaboration and partnership

We lead the way, but we do not act alone. Collaboration and partnerships significantly increase our reach, influence and impact. Advocacy is at the heart of our approach.

We collaborate and partner with:

industry groups
employer representatives
trade unions and other organisations that represent workers
professional bodies
other stakeholders and intermediaries who have significant influence with businesses and can help set and promote health and safety standards

Through collaboration and partnership, we act together to:

reach out to and support dutyholders
raise awareness of health and safety issues
motivate dutyholders to comply with their legal responsibilities
understand what dutyholders need to know to control risks effectively
develop practical solutions to meet dutyholders’ needs

Examples of HSE collaboration and partnerships

Collaborating with industry to reduce health risks from metalworking fluids

Collaboration and partnership are central to our approach to improve health protection for workers who use water-mix metalworking fluids (MWFs).

MWFs are widely used for cooling and lubrication during machining of metals. Exposure can harm the lungs and skin.

The UK Lubricants Association (UKLA) worked closely with us to develop their ‘Good practice guide for safe handling and disposal of MWF’. The guide was prepared by a joint UKLA and HSE expert panel, incorporating advice from experienced machine shop managers and medical experts. UKLA and HSE also jointly produced a series of complementary videos on ‘Looking After Your Metalworking Fluids’.

Collaboration has also included an expert workshop with representatives from lubricant manufacturers and the machining industry on alternatives to use of compressed air.

Engagement with our industry partners is central to developing the messages for our communications campaigns for the sector.

Working Minds campaign preventing work-related stress

Our Working Minds Campaign is helping businesses to understand their legal duties and take action to prevent work-related stress. The campaign was co-created with 8 stakeholder organisations and has over 30 partners, including national charities, industry groups and professional bodies.

Our campaign partners are reaching out to help spread our messages and influence widely. They provide additional voices to our webinars, blogs and podcasts to engage and inform stakeholders, and enable us to host dedicated events in England, Scotland and Wales. The campaign website has practical advice and guidance to support dutyholders to focus on effective actions for prevention.

Following up reports of issues and incidents

We take proportionate action to follow up reports of issues and incidents.

Reports of issues

We receive over 40,000 reports of health and safety issues every year from members of the public, workers, union safety representatives and others. Reports can include images and phone videos. We assess every report and respond promptly. We take proportionate action when an issue is in our remit and there are indications of:

ongoing significant risk to people
significant breach of health and safety at work law

Reports of incidents

Dutyholders must report certain incidents to us under the:

Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR)
legislation specific to certain activities such as industrial major hazards

Incidents include work-related fatalities, ill health, disease, injuries, near misses and other dangerous occurrences.

We assess every report of work-related incidents. Our assessment closely adheres to the incident definitions in the relevant legislation. Based on our assessment, we take proportionate action when an incident is in our remit.

Proportionate action on reports of issues and incidents

The proportionate actions we take in response to issues and incidents in our remit include:

inspection
investigation
enforcement

There's guidance on enforcing authorities for reporting issues or incidents that are outside our remit.

Inspection

Inspection is a key activity to assess how well dutyholders are managing risks to health and safety and, where they are not, to bring about improvements to achieve this.

When we carry out an inspection, we engage with workers or their representatives to check that they are adequately involved and consulted on health and safety. Where appropriate, we take proportionate enforcement action.

If we find that a dutyholder has broken the law, they will have to pay for the time it takes us to help them put things right. This is called a 'fee for intervention' (FFI). Find out more on our fee for intervention pages.

We provide information for dutyholders and workers on what to expect when a health and safety inspector calls.

Inspection campaigns

About half our inspections are carried out in our targeted inspection campaigns. We communicate our inspection campaigns widely so that dutyholders know our inspectors may be visiting and what our inspectors are looking for.

Example of an inspection campaign

Welding can harm workers if dutyholders do not put effective measures in place to control risks to health and safety. Many health risks have been known for a long time, such as the risk of developing asthma and ‘metal fume fever’.

The risk to workers of developing cancer from stainless steel welding fume is long established. However, in 2018 the International Agency for Research on Cancer produced new evidence which identified that there is also a risk of developing cancer from exposure to low-carbon steel welding fume.

In response, we carried out a blend of interventions. This included a safety alert, updated guidance and advice for dutyholders, engagement with industry and professional bodies and trade unions, and a focused inspection campaign.

Inspections driven by regulatory intelligence

Inspections also target work activities and dutyholders where we have regulatory intelligence about significant health and safety failings. Regulatory intelligence means information from a range of sources. This includes:

issues reported by members of the public, workers or others
incidents reported by dutyholders
incident investigations that indicate wider failures of risk control for a work activity
previous dutyholder performance on compliance with the law
our information sharing with other regulators and inspection agencies

We work closely with other inspection agencies when uncontrolled risks to health and safety at work are linked with breaches of other legislation.

Example of HSE working with other agencies using regulatory intelligence

We work closely with the police, the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA) and other agencies. We support police-led targeted inspections where there is intelligence on modern slavery, trafficking and exploitation of people, and uncontrolled risks to the health and safety of workers.

These investigations have led to HSE investigations and prosecutions under health and safety legislation. For example, these police-led inspections have targeted car wash operations.

Investigation

We investigate work-related incidents and reported issues. These investigations are selected on the basis of:

the highest risk to people
the greatest potential for regulatory impact.

Where appropriate we take proportionate enforcement action.

Our investigations and enforcement action may involve the victims of work-related injury or ill health, and the families bereaved when there is a work-related death. Visit our webpage on victims and bereaved families for details on the information we provide them.

Investigation is an important intervention for changing behaviour and improving health and safety at work standards. It enables us to prevent ongoing risk, determine causes, identify what actions a dutyholder needs to take to prevent reoccurrence, and learn wider lessons on prevention.

We share lessons learned with those who need to take action. This includes through safety alerts and notices and our free ebulletin service.

Investigations can also lead to engagement and partnership with industry and professional bodies to:

support their actions to update their guidance and standards to capture the lessons learned
where needed, undertake research to develop evidence on effective prevention

Examples of HSE investigation activity

Investigating work-related deaths

HSE, the police, and other regulators and organisations involved in investigating work-related fatalities have agreed protocols and liaison agreements to support working together as effectively and efficiently as possible. The agreements are set out in work-related death protocols.

Working with industry experts on lessons learned from investigations

We have investigated several fatal incidents involving the use of tower cranes, some involving multiple fatalities. We have issued safety alerts, taken enforcement action and conducted experimental research into the causes of mechanical failures.

Our engagement with industry identified a need to improve gaps in safety standards.

We worked with industry to bring together their expertise and the knowledge gained through our forensic incident investigations and research to reach a consensus on good practice standards. This resulted in a revision of the British Standard Code of Practice for the Safe Use of Tower Cranes (British Standard 7121 part 5).

Directing an inquiry be held into an incident

We may also, with the consent of the Secretary of State, direct an inquiry to be held into an incident. We do this for the most serious health and safety at work incidents where there may be significant poorly understood risks, lessons to learn for an entire industry sector, and that raise high public concerns.

Example of HSE directing an inquiry be held into an incident

We directed an inquiry to be held into the 2005 Buncefield Oil Storage Depot Incident in which over 40 people were injured. The inquiry estimated that the economic impact of the incident was £1 billion. The actions following the inquiry’s recommendations included the introduction by industry, regulators and the unions of the Principles for Process Safety Leadership which include board level involvement and competence in safety management.

Enforcement

We take proportionate enforcement action when a dutyholder does not meet their legal responsibilities to protect people. We take enforcement action to:

prevent harm to people
ensure sustained dutyholder compliance with health and safety at work law
secure justice

Types of enforcement action

Our enforcement actions include:

giving a dutyholder advice and writing to them to require action, this is the most common enforcement action
serving an improvement notice or prohibition notice that requires a dutyholder to make improvements or stop dangerous activities (failure to comply is a criminal offence)
withdrawing or changing our permissioning and licensing
in Scotland, recommending a prosecution to the Procurator Fiscal
in England and Wales, bringing a prosecution where there is evidence of a material breach of law and it is in the public interest to do so

We make clear to dutyholders which matters are subject to enforcement, and the measures they must take to achieve compliance including timescales.

We inform workers or their representatives when we take enforcement action and explain what action we are requiring their employer to take to put matters right.

After enforcement, we take proportionate follow up action, including site visits, to check that dutyholders have made any necessary changes.

Dutyholders’ right to appeal

We give dutyholders information on their right to appeal. Find out more on what to expect when a health and safety inspector calls.

Enforcement principles and approach

Our enforcement action is proportionate to the risks to people and to the seriousness of the breach of law.

Our Enforcement Policy Statement sets out our general principles and approach. All HSE and local authority inspectors and other staff that take enforcement decisions must follow the Enforcement Policy Statement.

Our principles and standards for enforcement lawyers set out how HSE makes decisions about prosecutions, and what processes we have in place to ensure fairness and consistency.

Find out more about our enforcement principles and standards.

Communicating serious enforcement actions

We communicate the most serious enforcement actions, including through our ebulletins and press releases. We also publish a register of HSE convictions and notices.

Our aim is to:

raise wider awareness of the impact on victims and their families
act as a deterrent against dutyholders failing to comply with their legal responsibilities to protect workers and the public
provide assurance that we take robust action to secure justice
raise awareness of our communications on the actions dutyholders need to take to protect people against risks to health and safety

Example of communications about convictions

In 2024/25 HSE prosecutions lead to over 300 convictions. The courts can impose custodial sentences of up to 2 years and/or unlimited fines. The level of fine should reflect the seriousness of the offence, how much money the offender can pay and encourage compliance with health and safety legislation.

Our communications about convictions are widely shared through the media and industry bodies. We highlight the impact on victims and their families, and the punitive measures imposed by the courts. We reinforce our communications for dutyholders on the actions they need to take to protect people.

Enabling innovation

We anticipate and respond to the changing world of work, ways of doing things and technological innovation. We use ‘futures approaches’ to support development of policies that are robust and adaptable for the uncertain paths innovation and change take.

We engage with industry, innovators, government departments, and regulators and research institutes nationally and internationally, and routinely act to help Great Britain adapt safely.

Examples of HSE enabling innovation

Creating the Industrial Safetytech Regulatory Sandbox for the construction sector

We have created the world’s first Industrial Safetytech Regulatory Sandbox for the construction sector to explore how innovative technologies can help improve health and safety. This includes artificial intelligence (AI), visual analytics, augmented reality, virtual reality, internet of things, sensors, wearables, drones and robotics.

The Regulatory Sandbox was a collaborative environment where regulators and industry came together with technology companies to investigate the opportunities new technologies might provide for improving health and safety performance and compliance. It benefitted all parties involved by providing a safe space to explore opportunities for improvements, identify barriers to adoption and suggest how they might be overcome.

Enabling use of Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a transformative technology with rapidly developing capability.
The use of AI provides opportunities for real benefits for health and safety at work, but also the potential to create or increase risks if dutyholders do not put effective controls in place.
We are working with our stakeholders to develop our regulatory approach and explore the challenges and opportunities AI brings.

For example, we are:

working with government departments to shape the approach to AI regulation and collaborating with other regulators to encourage consistency
establishing relationships with industry and academic stakeholders to share knowledge and learning
engaging with national and international standards bodies to support the establishment of benchmarks for AI interaction with machinery and ‘functional safety’
increasing our understanding of AI use in HSE-regulated sectors and the potential health and safety impacts

Enabling safe deployment of carbon capture and storage

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is an emergent technology to support clean, secure energy. Carbon dioxide released in power generation or industrial facilities is transported by pipeline or ship to permanent underground storage. HSE has brought together its expertise in science and research, policy, and interventions to enable the safe introduction of this technology.

We enabled an operator to safely undertake Great Britain’s first carbon dioxide injection test. The operator injected carbon dioxide into a depleted natural gas reservoir under the North Sea using a repurposed offshore gas platform. A multidisciplinary HSE team engaged with the company both onshore and offshore. We advised on regulatory expectations and enabled the operator to unlock their own safety solutions. We undertook onshore and offshore inspections during the trial, considering both engineering aspects and safety management systems.

The test enabled the operator to obtain critical information to support the utilisation of depleted reservoirs for permanent carbon dioxide storage.

Research and statistics to build the evidence base

HSE scientists and analysts carry out and publish robust scientific research, and statistics to build the evidence base we need to underpin and inform our regulatory activities.

Our scientists work with industry partners and collaborate with scientific institutes nationally and internationally to ensure HSE has access to the best available evidence. We are committed to the highest ethical standards for research, find out more in our Statement of compliance with the Concordat on Research Integrity.

Our Shared Research Programme supports external collaboration and investment in our research portfolio. This allows resources and expertise to be shared for the benefit of all.

We publish a high-level summary of our wider research interests - find out more about our areas of research interest We encourage and support others to undertake and fund research to meet our wider research interests, including in collaboration with HSE.

The Workplace Health Expert Committee provides us with independent, expert opinion on occupational health.

Find out more about our scientific research.

Find out more about health and safety statistics.

Examples of HSE publications about HSE research and analysis

Annual health and safety at work statistics

Our ‘Annual Health and Safety at Work: Summary Statistics’ online booklet gives key facts that set out the scale of the challenge for Great Britain. This highlights the number of workers suffering from work-related ill health, the number injured and the number killed. It also sets out the financial cost in billions of pounds. We use these statistics to make the case to everyone in the health and safety system to better protect workers.

Annual science review

Our annual science review gives case studies that illustrate:

the breadth of our science, engineering and analysis work including research, forensic incident investigation, and evidence synthesis
our national and international scientific collaborations to build the evidence base we need
how we use robust scientific evidence across our full regulatory remit to protect people and places

Principles and requirements underpinning our regulatory approach

Our regulatory approach operates within the legal framework set by the Health and Safety at Work Act and associated legislation.

Our approach aligns with good practice for regulators. Our regulatory activities are transparent, accountable, proportionate, consistent, and targeted. These Regulatory Principles were set out in 1997 by the Better Regulation Task Force and are in the Legislative and Regulatory Reform Act (on legislation.gov.uk).

Under the Regulators’ Code (on GOV.UK), we:

support compliance and growth
engage with those we regulate
base our activities on risk
share information about compliance and risk
provide clear information, guidance and advice
are transparent about our approach to regulatory activities

Additional good practice for regulators and for scientific advice to government, includes the following: