HSE – What is The Role Of The Health and Safety Executive?

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is the independent regulator responsible for workplace health, safety and welfare across Great Britain. Established under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HSWA), the HSE works alongside local authorities to protect workers, members of the public, and the environment from risks arising from work activities. For any UK business, understanding the HSE's role, powers, and expectations is essential to maintaining legal compliance and avoiding costly enforcement action.

How the HSE Was Established and Its Legal Foundation

The HSE was created on 1 January 1975 as a result of the Robens Report (1972), which recommended a single, unified framework for workplace safety regulation. The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 remains the primary piece of legislation underpinning the HSE's authority. This Act places a general duty on employers to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare of all employees at work. It also places duties on the self-employed, employees themselves, manufacturers, and suppliers of articles and substances used at work.

In addition to the 1974 Act, the HSE administers a wide body of secondary legislation, including the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR), the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH), the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 (CDM), and many more sector-specific regulations.

HSE Sector Divisions and Areas of Responsibility

The HSE organises its regulatory work across several sector-specific divisions, each responsible for particular industries and risk areas. These divisions include:

Construction Division – oversees one of the highest-risk sectors in the UK, enforcing CDM 2015 and tackling falls from height, the leading cause of workplace fatalities
Energy Division – regulates offshore oil and gas, onshore major hazard sites, and the gas distribution network
Manufacturing Division – covers engineering, food and drink, woodworking, paper and board, and other manufacturing sectors
Chemicals, Explosives and Microbiological Hazards Division – enforces COMAH Regulations and regulates the chemical and explosives industries
Health and Safety in the Workplace Division – focuses on occupational health, stress, musculoskeletal disorders, and workplace transport
Nuclear Safety Division – ensures the safe operation of nuclear installations across the UK

Local authorities share enforcement responsibilities with the HSE for lower-risk workplaces such as offices, shops, hotels, restaurants, and leisure facilities. The division of responsibility is set out in the Health and Safety (Enforcing Authority) Regulations 1998.

The HSE's Core Responsibilities

The HSE carries out a broad range of functions to ensure that duty holders understand and meet their obligations. Its core responsibilities include:

Proposing new or updated health and safety regulations and approved codes of practice
Conducting research and publishing guidance to help employers manage risks
Carrying out targeted inspections and investigations following workplace incidents
Enforcing health and safety law through improvement notices, prohibition notices, and prosecutions
Operating licensing regimes for high-hazard industries, including asbestos removal, nuclear installations, and explosives manufacture
Providing information, advice, and guidance to employers, employees, and the public
Raising awareness of workplace health risks, including occupational lung disease, work-related stress, and musculoskeletal disorders

Duty Holder Responsibilities Under UK Health and Safety Law

Under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, every employer is a "duty holder" with specific legal obligations. Employers must:

Provide and maintain safe plant and systems of work
Ensure the safe use, handling, storage, and transport of articles and substances
Provide information, instruction, training, and supervision to ensure employee safety
Maintain a safe workplace with safe access and egress
Provide adequate welfare facilities
Prepare a written health and safety policy (required where five or more employees are engaged)

The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 expand on these duties by requiring employers to carry out suitable and sufficient risk assessments, appoint competent persons to assist with health and safety, establish emergency procedures, provide health surveillance where appropriate, and cooperate with other employers sharing a workplace. These regulations also place duties on employees to take reasonable care of their own health and safety and that of others who may be affected by their actions.

HSE Enforcement Powers: Improvement and Prohibition Notices

When an HSE inspector identifies a breach of health and safety law, they have a range of enforcement options at their disposal. The two most commonly used formal mechanisms are:

Improvement Notices

An improvement notice is served when an inspector is of the opinion that a person is contravening, or has contravened, a relevant statutory provision. The notice specifies the contravention and requires the duty holder to remedy it within a stated period (typically 21 days or more). The duty holder may appeal to an employment tribunal within 21 days, which suspends the notice until the appeal is heard.

Prohibition Notices

A prohibition notice is served when an inspector is of the opinion that an activity involves, or will involve, a risk of serious personal injury. The notice directs that the activity must not be carried on until the specified matters have been remedied. A prohibition notice can take immediate effect, meaning the activity must stop at once. An appeal against a prohibition notice does not suspend it unless the tribunal directs otherwise.

In the most serious cases, the HSE may prosecute duty holders in the criminal courts. Following the Sentencing Council's Health and Safety Offences Definitive Guideline (2016), fines for corporate offenders can run into millions of pounds for the most serious breaches. Individuals, including company directors, can face imprisonment for up to two years for offences under the 1974 Act, and custodial sentences under the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 are also possible in the gravest circumstances.

The Fee for Intervention (FFI) Scheme

Since October 2012, the HSE has operated the Fee for Intervention (FFI) scheme under the Health and Safety (Fees) Regulations 2012. Under FFI, where an HSE inspector identifies a material breach of health and safety law, the duty holder must pay a fee to cover the HSE's costs of identifying the breach, investigating, and taking enforcement action. The current rate is £174 per hour (as of 2025/26).

FFI applies to all businesses that the HSE regulates directly. A "material breach" is one where the inspector issues a notification of contravention, an improvement notice, a prohibition notice, or initiates a prosecution. The scheme is designed to shift the cost of regulation from the taxpayer to those businesses that are found to be breaking the law. Duty holders can dispute an FFI invoice through a formal disputes process or, ultimately, through the courts.

How HSE Inspections Work

HSE inspectors have broad powers of entry under Section 20 of the 1974 Act. An inspector may enter any premises at any reasonable time (or at any time in a situation of danger) without prior notice. During an inspection, an inspector may:

Examine and investigate premises, plant, and substances
Take measurements, photographs, and samples
Require the production of documents, records, and books
Interview any person they believe can provide relevant information
Require areas or articles to be left undisturbed for examination
Seize and render harmless any article or substance that is a cause of imminent danger

Inspections may be proactive (planned visits to high-risk sectors or workplaces) or reactive (triggered by a workplace accident, complaint, or a report under RIDDOR 2013). Under RIDDOR, employers must report specified workplace injuries, cases of occupational disease, and dangerous occurrences to the HSE. Failure to report under RIDDOR is itself a criminal offence.

Preparing for an HSE Inspection

To ensure a positive outcome from an HSE visit, employers should take the following practical steps:

Ensure all risk assessments are up to date, suitable, and sufficient, and are readily accessible to staff
Maintain records of all training provided to employees, including induction, refresher, and specialist training
Display the Health and Safety Law poster or distribute the equivalent leaflet to all employees
Keep accident and incident records up to date and ensure RIDDOR-reportable events have been notified
Conduct regular workplace walkthroughs to identify and control obvious hazards
Ensure that fire safety, first aid, and emergency arrangements are in place and tested
Consult employees on health and safety matters, either directly or through elected safety representatives
Demonstrate management leadership and commitment to health and safety

Following an inspection, the HSE may provide verbal or written advice, issue enforcement notices, or take no further action if the employer is compliant. Employers should treat any feedback as an opportunity to strengthen their health and safety management systems.

Reporting Under RIDDOR 2013

The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR) require employers, the self-employed, and people in control of premises to report certain workplace incidents to the HSE. Reportable incidents include:

Deaths arising from work-related accidents
Specified injuries, including fractures (other than fingers, thumbs, and toes), amputations, crush injuries, loss of consciousness, and injuries requiring hospital admission for more than 24 hours
Over-seven-day incapacitation – where a worker is incapacitated for more than seven consecutive days
Occupational diseases, including carpal tunnel syndrome, occupational dermatitis, hand-arm vibration syndrome, occupational asthma, and tendonitis
Dangerous occurrences – near-miss events such as the collapse of scaffolding, electrical incidents, or the release of hazardous substances

Reports must be submitted online via the HSE's reporting system. Fatal and specified injuries must be reported without delay (typically by telephone), and a written report must follow within ten days.

How Policy Pros Can Help

Navigating the requirements of the HSE, the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, and RIDDOR 2013 can be a significant challenge for businesses of all sizes. Policy Pros specialises in writing and reviewing health and safety policies and procedures that are tailored to your organisation, industry sector, and risk profile. Whether you need a complete set of health and safety documentation from scratch or a thorough review of your existing policies ahead of an HSE inspection, our team can help ensure you meet your legal obligations.

We also provide a comprehensive policy and procedure writing service covering risk assessments, method statements, COSHH assessments, fire safety policies, lone working procedures, and more. Our documents are written in plain English, referenced to the relevant legislation, and designed to be practical tools that your managers and staff can actually use on the ground.

Getting your policies right is the first step to building a strong health and safety culture. Contact Policy Pros today to discuss your requirements.