HSE to consult on Fee for Intervention disputes scheme after legal action
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is to consult on ways to make its ‘Fee for Intervention’ (FFI) cost recovery dispute scheme fully independent, amid reports that the watchdog has reached agreement with a company which was taking it to judicial review.
The FFI scheme was introduced in October 2012 to shift the cost of HSE involvement to organisations that break the law.
Organisations which received a written notice from an inspector about serious health and safety failings in the workplace are liable for recovery of the HSE’s costs, under the Health and Safety (Fees) Regulations 2012.
Until now, disputes have been considered by a panel comprising two members from HSE and one independent. The HSE said that having reviewed this process, it would now consult on making the process fully independent.
An HSE spokesperson said: “HSE has always kept the dispute process under review and following a recent application for a judicial review we believe the time is right to move to a dispute process which is completely independent of HSE.”
The judicial review challenge over the process was brought by OCS Group UK, a facilities management company.
it was told that it had materially breached its duties (under the Control of Vibration at Work Regulations) when cutting the grass at Heathrow Airport.
The company denied that it had breached the regulations and complained about a bill it received from HSE for £2,306.
OCS went on to challenge this sum formally and to challenge the way the FFI works. The company, which was given permission in September to proceed with judicial review, specifically questioned the fairness of the composition of the HSE disputes; the lack of an opportunity for an oral hearing; and the fact that evidence seen by the panel is not shown to the company involved.
Law firm CMS Cameron McKenna said the existing FFI scheme could have been quashed if the judicial review had gone ahead.
Writing on its CMS LawNow site, the firm said: “In offering to consider an overhaul of the process, the HSE may well have avoided its day in court – but it has nonetheless been cajoled into taking action. Importantly, however, this is no guarantee that the new system will meet requisite levels of independence. Should the consultation fail to yield a process which is seen to be fair, it will be interesting to observe whether OCS resumes its challenge.”
No details have yet been given about the timing and duration of the consultation.
