How we decide when to visit you
Our health and safety officers may carry out an inspection for a variety of reasons.
For example, we may visit you to:
We can also visit you if you ask for advice or request help on health and safety matters.
Certain work-related accidents need to be reported by law (RIDDOR). When the accident information is received, we will review the details against certain criteria to decide if further enquiries need to be made into the incident. This may simply be a letter asking for more information or an inspector may visit your business to investigate the accident further.
If we receive a complaint about your business we will make an unannounced visit to investigate the allegations made. If the complaint is not justified our records will be updated to show this. In the event the complaint is justified the inspector will decide if any further action is required and this will be discussed with you.
Businesses are inspected in line with guidance from the Health and Safety Executive. These businesses will include:
- premises that are high risk
- inspections that form part of a campaign
- inspections in response to poor performance
- reactive inspections triggered by a problem
When a business has been inspected, a score (or risk rating) will be given to the business in respect of each of the following criteria:
- safety performance – work equipment, procedure or method of work
- health performance – the potential of a substance, chemical, force (eg, noise), or method of work to cause harm or ill health
- confidence in management – policies, management systems, arrangements, processes, plans, risk assessments, measurement and review of performance and adequate auditing of the health and safety system
- welfare compliance – including ventilation, lighting levels, ambient and working temperatures, changing facilities, rest areas and so on
The risk ratings will then determine how often the business will be inspected.
Advisory visits and requests for help
All businesses and their employees are encouraged to contact their inspectors for advice and guidance. This may prevent an accident or problem in the future. These visits will show on our records as requests for help and will not contribute to the risk rating of your business.
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