Fees for Intervention (FFI) are once again under scrutiny as the HSE raised their hourly rate for FFI to £129, an increase of 4%. Although unpopular in some quarters, the FFI has arguably been effective in shifting the cost of health and safety regulation from the public purse to those businesses that break health and safety laws. The HSE have robustly defended the policy since its introduction in October 2012, stating that “the many businesses that comply with their legal obligations will continue to pay nothing.”
- Income from FFI grew to £14.7m in the year ending April 2016.
- In excess of 18,000 inspections were carried out in the most recent year.
- The number of invoices issued reached a record high of 3,719.
- The manufacturing sector continues to be hardest hit with a total bill of £5.2m over the last year.
“Increasing FFI costs are just a small part of the financial losses incurred through workplace accidents,” said Russell Barnard, SG World Product Manager. “The HSE undertook some detailed research a few years ago that found for every £1 of direct costs you can associate with an accident there are between £8 and £36 of indirect costs. Investing in robust H&S processes makes absolute business sense and you can’t begin to quantify the personal cost of a serious accident.”