Inspection, Investigation

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Inspection, Investigation Enforcement

• Sara Marsden
• Greenstreet Berman Ltd
• sara.marsden_at_greenstreet.co.uk
• www.greenstreet.co.uk

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Outline of talk

• Organising inspectors work
• Workplace as a community
• Consultation
• Role of the worker representative
• Possible outcomes of visits
• Some other issues/points of contention

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HSE/LA roles

• Protection of workers public
• HS advice prevention
• Visible enforcement - criminal law
• Justice for victims
• Complaints investigations handling

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Inspection allocation

• HSE - Local Authority divide
• HSE planning
• Field ? HQ discussion
• Targets - national/local
• Inspections according to risk rating
• incidents
• complaints
• numbers enforcement actions

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Organising inspection

• HSE field organisation
• regional sectors
• sector groups, HID
• Principal Inspector roles
• manage sector/HID inspectors
• input into planning
• delivery of group targets
• selection of incidents

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Selection for inspection

• Planned preventive inspection
• based on rating system
• inspector rates at visit
• Project work
• priority industries
• priority issues

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Announcing the visit

• Motivation of possibility of an unannounced
  visit
• Stakeholder interests (workforce, public)
• Some announced visits are useful/necessary
• Charging inspection plans?
• Guidelines?

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Workplace community

• Amongst other things
• Achieving aims depends on -
• Group dynamics, power relations
• Organisational characteristics
• Employer/Employee relationship
• neednt be a problem!
• affects communications
• Inspector Awareness?

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Why should it matter to HSE?

• Effective health and safety management depends on
  -
• how the organisation ticks
• active participation of the workforce
• effective consultation
• Consultation is a legal requirement
• Effect of visit

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Effective consultation

• Worker voice
• TU safety reps
• employee representatives
• Empowered reps
• training
• security
• time for health and safety

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Inspecting consultation - 1

• Assessing consultation
• Standards for consultation?
• Safety rep rights
• History of complaints/UINs
• Competence of managers
• Tools include -
• Contact with safety reps

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Inspecting consultation - 2

• Influencing consultation
• Visible meetings with worker reps
• individual/HS committee meetings
• informal phone advice
• can have long term effect
• Employer advice enforcement
• too hands off?
• care needed

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Inspecting consultation - 3

• Inspector awareness/training
• acceptable consultation standards
• understanding and influencing organisations
• role structure of trade unions
• industrial relations

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Selection for investigation

• Accidents/incidents priorities incl
• fatalities
• serious injury, ill health, DOs
• potentially serious events
• public concern, vulnerable groups etc
• serious breaches of law
• risk, justice and fairness

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Reps and investigation

• Questions of custom and practice
• Previous workforce complaints
• Identifying witnesses
• View on consultation
• Reassurance of witnesses
• Communication with workforce

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Possible outcomes

• advice, letter
• enforcement notice
• e.g. improvement notice, prohibition notice
• formal evidence collection
• proposed prosecution report
• prosecution
• Resources?

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Investigating/inspecting directors

• Section 37
• part of theoretical training
• little guidance
• patchy understanding/proactive work
• Increasingly meet MDs CEOs
• during inspection
• PACE act interviews

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Conservatism in enforcement?

• Improvement Notice
• Strive for perfection!
• Evidence almost as good as a prosecution
• Burden of tribunal administration
• Where does this leave those at risk?

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In summary...

• Workplace as community
• matters to health and safety management
• influence performance
• Consultation
• recognised standards enforcement
• inspector training?
• Other issues
• announcing visits s37 guidance INs protecting
  hs -v- evidence of crime