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Business inspection - health and safety

Information on who enforces the health and safety legislation in your workplace, when we will undertake a health and safety inspection of a business and what to expect.

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Who enforces workplace health and safety law and can provide advice?

Workplace health and safety legislation in Great Britain is enforced by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) or one of the over 380 local authorities depending on the main activity carried out at any particular premises. For the East Riding of Yorkshire Council this function is undertaken by the Health and Safety Team.

In general, our service is the main enforcing authority for retail, wholesale distribution and warehousing, hotel and catering premises, offices, and the consumer/leisure industries in the East Riding of Yorkshire area. Whereas the HSE are the enforcing authority for sectors such as agriculture, construction, and manufacturing.

As the enforcing authority for workplace health and safety law, our service will in certain circumstances undertake inspections of the businesses that we act as the enforcing authority for. The HSE will in certain circumstances undertake inspections of the businesses that they act as the enforcing authority for.

To check if a business is enforced by the Local Authority or the HSE please visit the webpage which includes a full list of work activities via the link below:

HSE - Enforcement allocation (external website)

If your business is enforced by the HSE, please visit their website which includes full information on their inspections via the link below:

HSE - When a health and safety inspector calls (external website)

When will a Health and Safety officer visit a business to undertake an inspection?

A health and safety officer will normally visit a business to undertake an inspection in the following instances:

  • In conjunction with a proactive health and safety priority and intervention
  • When there has been an accident that is reportable under Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR)
  • When a complaint has been received raising concerns about a potentially serious health and safety concern that may be a risk to a worker, a member of the public or other individuals.

A member of the Health and Safety team may visit a business for a reason otherwise than listed above, and will explain the reason for the visit upon arrival.

What are the proactive health and safety priorities?

In addition to the investigation of accidents and complaints the Health and Safety team has a plan of proactive priorities and interventions. The priorities are typically high-risk sectors which are set by using accident data, national and local intelligence.

The aim of our proactive work is to prevent accidents by raising awareness of the legal requirements and good practice published in guidance, whilst promoting a positive health and safety culture and the benefits of good organisational culture.

This work normally involves providing advice to businesses and undertaking proactive inspections.

The high-risk sectors that the council's health, safety and licensing service have selected as a priority for our proactive work are as follows:

  • Legionella (spa pools and hot tubs in the holiday sector)
  • Work-related stress
  • Visitor attractions with animal contact to prevent or control ill-health arising from animal contact
  • Inflatable amusement devices
  • Playgrounds and play Areas
  • Warehouses
  • Gas safety in commercial catering premises.

For advice and support on complying with workplace health and safety law in respect of the proactive priority topics, please visit the advice to businesses webpage.

Where can I find out more information on reportable accidents and workplace complaints?

For information on the reporting of workplace accidents and investigation of accidents at work, please visit the accident investigation web page.

For information on workplace health and safety complaints, please visit the workplace complaints page.

Will I receive advance notice of a visit and what are the rights of entry?

We have the right to enter any Local Authority-enforced workplace without giving notice, although we may give notice where we think it is appropriate.

Visits will take place at any reasonable time necessary for the purpose of the visit. This could be outside of normal office hours if there has been an accident or there is a potentially dangerous situation.

All member of the Health and Safety team will have a photo identification badge and a document which lists their authorisations and powers. They will normally wear the identification badge on a lanyard and show this to you upon their arrival and introduction. The member of the team will also show you a copy of their authorisation upon request.

Please note: it is a criminal offence to refuse entry to an authorised officer.

What can I expect during the visit?

Our job is to keep people safe and healthy at work. We visit hundreds of locations every year as part of that job. Your visit is one of many that we do every day.

The officer will look at how you keep your workers, and anyone who may be affected by your work, healthy and safe. They may also give you advice on health and safety or make sure you are providing suitable welfare facilities, such as running hot and cold water and toilets.

While the officer is with you, they may:

  • ask you about your workers and what they do
  • look at any possible health risks arising from the work you are doing
  • look at any machinery or other equipment that you have
  • ask to see records or other documents
  • take photographs.

The officer will want to know about the main health and safety issues in your workplace and your own knowledge or experience of health and safety.

The officer may also talk to you about things like safety standards, guidance and everyday practices in your industry. The officer may need to talk to your employees or their representatives during the visit.

The officer may take action if they find non-compliance with workplace health and safety law. They may also tell you to stop a dangerous activity in your workplace immediately. More information is available below.

What enforcement action can the council take following an inspection?

The HSE have published guidance for Health and Safety officers to support them in deciding if they should take enforcement action and what sort of enforcement action to take. The guidance is not strict set of rules, but officers will consider this when making decisions.

The officer may take informal enforcement action including giving advice, verbally or in writing, about some improvements you could make to health and safety in your workplace.

Although it is not our preferred course of action. In some cases, the officer may take formal enforcement action including issuing improvement notices, issuing prohibition notices and prosecution of breaches that are criminal offences in the Courts.

Improvement and prohibition notices have a legal right of appeal that is explained in full on the notice document issued to dutyholders.

All enforcement decision and action will be taken in accordance the council's Public Protection Enforcement Policy and the Regulators Code.

Improvement Notices

An improvement notice will state:

  • what’s wrong
  • any changes you need to make to put things right
  • how long you have to make those changes.

We will give you at least 21 days to make any changes. The dutyholder will commit a criminal offence if they do not make the changes in the time set.

Prohibition Notice

A prohibition notice will be issued if there is a risk of serious personal injury now or in the future.

A prohibition notice orders a dutyholder to stop doing something until you have made it safe to continue. The dutyholder will commit a criminal offence if they don’t comply with a prohibition notice.

Prosecution

We can prosecute dutyholder for breaking health and safety laws or for failing to comply with an improvement notice or a prohibition notice. The courts can fine dutyholders or in some cases send them to prison.

Notice Register

We publish information on some formal enforcement action on our online register.

Please note: the register does not include notices that were solely issued for the protection of persons at work and there is no risk to the public.

How do I make a complaint about a visit from a member of the Health and Safety team?

In the first instances we ask that complaints are made by email to health.safety@eastriding.gov.uk.

If you are unhappy with the initial response we will provide advice on how to escalate your complaint.

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