HSE inspections: what to expect when a health and safety inspector calls

01

What HSE inspections are, and the inspector's powers

An HSE inspection is an official visit to check compliance with the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and the regulations made under it. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is plain about the timing in its leaflet When a health and safety inspector calls (HSC14, revision 2): "We don't always tell people we're coming and the law lets us visit at any reasonable time."

The powers come from section 20 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. An inspector may:

• enter any premises "at any reasonable time", or at any time in a situation they think is or may be dangerous, and take a constable with them if they expect serious obstruction;
• make "such examination and investigation as may in any circumstances be necessary";
• direct that premises, or any part of them, are left undisturbed for as long as is reasonably necessary for the examination;
• take measurements, photographs and recordings, and samples of articles, substances and the atmosphere;
• require anyone they reasonably believe can give relevant information to answer questions and sign a declaration of the truth of the answers;
• require the production of, inspect and take copies of any books or documents the law requires to be kept, and any others they need to see;
• require anyone to give them the facilities and assistance they need.

Two safeguards sit in the same Act. Under section 20(7), an answer given under the questioning power is not admissible in evidence against the person who gave it, or their spouse or civil partner. And under section 28(8), an inspector must give employees or their representatives factual information about the premises and the action they have taken or propose, where that is needed to keep them informed, and give the same information to the employer.

It is a criminal offence under section 33 of the Act to contravene a requirement an inspector imposes under section 20, to intentionally obstruct an inspector, or intentionally to make a false entry in a register, book, notice or other document the law requires to be kept, served or given, or to use such an entry, knowing it to be false, with intent to deceive.

02

Who inspects which premises: HSE, the council or the fire service

Many health and safety inspections of businesses are not done by HSE at all. The Health and Safety (Enforcing Authority) Regulations 1998 give the enforcement of each premises to HSE or to the local authority according to its main activity, and HSE's page on enforcement allocation lists the council's share as "retail, wholesale distribution, warehousing, hotel and catering premises, offices, consumer and leisure industries". In practice:

• Council inspectors enforce health and safety at most offices, shops, warehouses, hotels, restaurants and leisure premises, with the same section 20 powers.
• HSE inspectors cover the workplaces the regulations do not give to the council. Where the main activity is less clear-cut, HSE says it and the council agree who enforces locally.
• The fire and rescue authority enforces general fire safety. Under article 25 of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 it is the enforcing authority for most premises in England and Wales, with HSE taking most construction sites; our guide to the fire risk assessment covers that visit.
• Northern Ireland has its own legislation and regulator, the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (HSENI). The 1974 Act and this guide's figures apply in Great Britain.

Why an inspector comes also varies. HSE's page on how HSE regulates says it concentrates "on the most serious risks to health and safety" and targets "dutyholders with the worst risk management record". Some visits are planned inspections in a targeted campaign; others follow an incident reported under RIDDOR, or a concern raised by a worker or a member of the public.

03

What to expect when an HSE inspector calls

HSC14 says the inspector "will look at how you keep your workers, and anyone who may be affected by your work, healthy and safe", and may check welfare facilities such as running hot and cold water and toilets. While they are with you, they may:

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

The inspector will want to know the main health and safety issues in the workplace and your own knowledge or experience of health and safety, and may also talk to you about "things like safety standards, guidance and everyday practices in your industry". They "will need to talk to your employees or their representatives during the visit". If they find you breaking health and safety law during the visit they may take action, and they can tell you to stop a dangerous activity immediately; the leaflet's example is people working on a roof where the scaffolding is unsafe.

A useful way to handle the day:

1. Ask for identification and the reason for the visit, and tell the most senior person on site.
2. Agree who accompanies the inspector, and let them see the work as it is normally done.
3. Let them speak to operatives, supervisors and any safety representative.
4. Produce the records they ask for, and note what was asked for, copied or taken.
5. Before they leave, ask what they found, what they expect you to do and by when.

04

The records an inspector can ask to see

Section 20 lets an inspector ask for any book or document there is a legal duty to keep and any other book or document they need to see for their examination or investigation. What exists depends on the business, but for a building or a contract on one, an inspector will commonly expect:

• The health and safety policy. Section 2(3) of the Act requires a written statement of the employer's policy, organisation and arrangements, brought to the notice of all employees; HSE's guidance on writing a policy says "If you have five or more employees, you must write your policy down."
• Risk assessments. Regulation 3 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 requires a suitable and sufficient assessment, reviewed when it may no longer be valid, with the significant findings recorded where there are five or more employees. See our guide to the risk assessment.
• Assessments under particular regulations, such as the COSHH assessment for cleaning chemicals.
• Inspection and examination records for equipment that needs them, such as LOLER thorough examinations of lifts and hoists and inspections of ladders.
• Accident records: the accident book and the record of RIDDOR reports.
• Training records showing who was trained for what, and when.
• The employers' liability insurance certificate. HSE's guide Employers' Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969: a brief guide for workers (HSE39) says the minimum cover is £5 million, a copy of the certificate must be displayed where employees have reasonable access to it, electronic display is allowed, and an employer can be fined for refusing to make it available to HSE inspectors.
• The health and safety law poster: HSE's page on displaying the poster says that if you employ anyone you must display it where workers can easily read it or give each worker the equivalent leaflet.

Records are judged by whether they are true, not by their thickness. An outdated risk assessment describing the building as it was three years ago, or an inspection sheet signed a week in advance, tells the inspector more about the management than an honest gap with a note of what was done about it.

05

After the inspection: advice, fees, notices and prosecution

HSC14 lists what may follow: advice, verbal or written; a notification of contravention; an improvement notice; a prohibition notice; or prosecution.

• Advice is free, whether given verbally or in writing.
• A notification of contravention (NoC) is a letter that says which law you have broken, how, and what you need to do. The inspector only sends one for a "material breach", which HSC14 explains as breaking the law "seriously enough for them to write to you about it".
• An improvement notice under section 21 states what is wrong, the law contravened, and the period to put it right, which cannot end before the time allowed for an appeal; HSC14 says "We will give you at least 21 days to make any changes."
• A prohibition notice under section 22 is served where an activity involves "a risk of serious personal injury". It directs that the activity stops until the matters are put right, either immediately or from a date stated in the notice.
• Prosecution, for breaking the law or for failing to comply with a notice. HSC14 says "The courts can fine you or in some cases send you to prison."

Failing to comply with an improvement or prohibition notice is itself an offence under section 33. HSE says in HSC14 that it publishes all improvement and prohibition notices on its website.

To appeal an improvement or prohibition notice, present a claim so that an employment tribunal receives it within 21 days, beginning with the day the notice was sent to you, under regulation 14A of the Employment Tribunals (Constitution and Rules of Procedure) Regulations 2013; the tribunal can allow longer where it was not reasonably practicable to appeal in time. Under section 24, an appeal suspends an improvement notice until it is decided, but suspends a prohibition notice only if the tribunal so directs. HSC14 asks you to speak to the inspector or their manager before starting any formal dispute.

06

Preparing for health and safety inspections in a shared building

Most buildings hold several employers: the occupier, a managing agent, a cleaning contractor, a security company, maintenance trades. An inspector looking at one will often find questions that belong to another. The law already divides the responsibilities:

• The person in control of the premises, often the landlord or managing agent, must under section 4(2) of the Act take reasonable measures to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that the premises, the ways in and out, and any plant or substance provided there are safe for the people who work there but are not its employees.
• Each employer remains responsible for its own staff and for others affected by its work, which is where a contractor's own risk assessments, training and equipment records come in.
• Employers sharing a workplace must co-operate and co-ordinate under regulation 11 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, and tell each other about the risks their work creates.

Preparing therefore means agreeing in advance who meets an inspector on each part of the building, where each employer's records are and who can produce them on any shift, and how a fault one contractor finds reaches whoever controls the fix.

The best preparation is the ordinary day. Regular internal inspections carried out by your own team, covered in our health and safety inspection checklist, find hazards and faults before they cause harm or an inspector finds them, and a record of faults reported and closed lets the business demonstrate that its management is working.

07

Where the record fails, and where SiteClara fits

Inspectors judge the days they were not there from the records. The weak points are familiar: the inspection sheet on the back of a plant room door signed for the week on Monday, a patrol logged with nothing to show where the officer went, and a damaged handrail noticed by three contractors and reported by none. In a shared building, each company's records may be sound and still not show what happened between them.

SiteClara records routine checks as they happen. A printed QR poster at each location, with an optional NFC tag, lets enrolled staff confirm a scheduled check on their own phone, with no app to install: they answer the checklist for that place, mark it done, or say what stopped them. They can report an issue with a note and a photo, and it stays on the team's list of jobs until someone closes it. The supervisor sees what was due, done and missed, records why a check was missed, reviews the day, and the approved report goes to nominated managers or the client at 8am the next morning.

That gives a building the working record of who checked what, where and when, and of what was reported and put right, made at the place and time by the person who did the work. The statutory records an inspector asks for, from the risk assessment to the thorough examination report, stay where the law and each employer keep them.

08

Questions people ask

Do HSE inspectors visit without warning?

They can. HSE's leaflet When a health and safety inspector calls (HSC14) says "We don't always tell people we're coming and the law lets us visit at any reasonable time", and section 20 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 allows entry at any time in a situation the inspector thinks is or may be dangerous. The leaflet adds that inspectors still have to follow the government's code of practice on entering homes or businesses.

What does HSE stand for?

The Health and Safety Executive. HSE's Our mission and priorities page describes it as "Britain's national regulator for workplace health and safety". Northern Ireland has its own regulator, the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (HSENI).

What happens if an HSE inspector finds a material breach?

The inspector gives you a notification of contravention, which HSE's leaflet When a health and safety inspector calls describes as a letter telling you which health and safety laws you have broken, how, and what you need to do to stop breaking them. HSE's fee for intervention guidance defines a material breach as "something which an inspector considers serious enough that they need to formally write to the business requiring action to be taken to deal with the material breach", and you then pay for the time HSE takes to identify what is wrong and help you put it right. HSC14 says the invoice must be paid within 30 days.

09

Official guidance, and a list to take away

Start with HSE's leaflet When a health and safety inspector calls, then the fee for intervention guidance and HSE's Enforcement Policy Statement, which sets out the approach HSE and local authority inspectors follow. The powers themselves are in section 20 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, and our guide to the Health and Safety at Work Act covers the duties behind them.

To prepare before an inspector calls, check that:

• you know whether HSE or the council enforces at each premises;
• everyone who might greet an inspector, on every shift, knows who to call and where the records are;
• the policy and risk assessments describe the building and the work as they are now;
• equipment inspection and examination reports are in date and the defects they found are closed;
• each contractor's assessments and training records can be produced on site;
• faults found on routine checks are reported, assigned and closed, with a record of each step;
• points from the last visit, or the last internal inspection, are closed with evidence.