HSE Inspection - Occupational Health

3rd November 2014

Over the next few months the HSE will be conducting inspections on site with their main focus being occupational Health. 

What is occupational Health??

Occupational ill health is the term used for either physical or mental disorders that are caused or triggered by workplace activities.

Items covered under occupational health are:

Musculoskeletal disorders

• Back injuries from awkward lifting
• Lifting above your capabilities

Respiratory Diseases

• Occupational asthma
• Silicosis 

Deafness

• Noise induced hearing loss

Vibration

• vibration white finger (VWF)

• hand arm vibration (HAV)

How do HSE inspections affect me?

During inspections the HSE inspector checks for material breaches of the law. A material breach is where you have broken a health and safety law which the inspector deems serious enough for them to notify you in writing, this will be in the form of a notification of contravention, improvement or prohibition notice, or prosecution in which case you will have to pay a fee. 

The fee is based on the amount of time that the inspector has had to spend identifying the breach, helping you put it right, investigating and taking enforcement action

Fee for intervention applies to duty holders, where HSE is the enforcing authority this includes employers, self-employed people who put others (including their employees or members of the public) at
risk