Analysis of Penalties Imposed on Organisations for Breaching Safety and Health Regulations in the UK

Article


Arewa, A. O., Theophilus, S., Ifelebuegu, A. and Farrell, P. 2018. Analysis of Penalties Imposed on Organisations for Breaching Safety and Health Regulations in the UK. Safety and Health at Work. 9 (4), pp. 388-397. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.shaw.2018.01.004
AuthorsArewa, A. O., Theophilus, S., Ifelebuegu, A. and Farrell, P.
Abstract

Background:
The study analyzes penalties imposed on organizations for breaching safety and health regulations. The research questions are as follows: what are the commonly breached safety and health regulations? How proportional are penalties imposed on organizations for breaching health and safety regulations in the United Kingdom?

Methods:
The study employed sequential explanatory mixed research strategies for better understanding of health and safety penalties imposed on organizations. Actual health and safety convictions and penalties data for 10 years (2006 to 2016) were obtained through the United Kingdom Health and Safety Executive (HSE) public register for convictions. Overall, 2,217 health and safety cases were analyzed amounting to total fines of £37,179,916, in addition to other wide-ranging penalties. For thorough understanding, eight interviews were conducted with industry practitioners, lawyers, and HSE officials as part of the study qualitative data.

Results:
Findings show that the Health and Safety at Work (HSW) Act accounted for 46% of all HSE prosecution cases in the last decade. This is nearly half of the total safety and health at work prosecutions. Moreover, there is widespread desire for organizations to comply with the HSW Act, but route fines are seen as burdensome and inimical to business growth.

Conclusion:
A key deduction from the study reveal significant disproportionality concerning penalties imposed on organizations for breaching safety and health regulations. On aggregate, small companies tend to pay more for health and safety offenses in a ratio of 1:2 compared to large companies. The study also reveals that the HSW Act accounted for nearly half of the total safety and health at work prosecutions in the last decade.

Keywordsorganizations; penalties; safety and health at work
JournalSafety and Health at Work
Journal citation9 (4), pp. 388-397
ISSN2093-7911
Year2018
PublisherElsevier
Publisher's version
License
File Access Level
Anyone
Supplemental file
File Access Level
Anyone
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1016/j.shaw.2018.01.004
Publication dates
Online02 Feb 2018
Print05 Dec 2018
Publication process dates
Accepted18 Jan 2018
Deposited05 Sep 2023
Copyright holder© 2018, The Authors
Permalink -

https://repository.uel.ac.uk/item/894q6

Download files


Publisher's version
1-s2.0-S2093791117302718-main.pdf
License: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
File access level: Anyone


Supplemental file
Supplementary material.pdf
File access level: Anyone

  • 3
    total views
  • 0
    total downloads
  • 3
    views this month
  • 0
    downloads this month

Export as

Related outputs

Theories of Costs of Health and Safety Compliance and Non-Compliance with Regulations
Olatoye, O. G., Tann, D., Arewa, A. O. and Olubodun, F. 2023. Theories of Costs of Health and Safety Compliance and Non-Compliance with Regulations. 2023 CIB W099 & W123 Annual International Conference: Digital Transformation of Health and Safety in Construction. Porto, Portugal 21 Jun - 22 Jul 2023 Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto. https://doi.org/10.24840/978-972-752-309-2
Fire Safety in High-Rise Buildings: Is the Stay-Put Tactic a Misjudgement or Magnificent Strategy?
Arewa, A., Ahmed, A., Edwards, D. J. and Nwankwo, C. 2021. Fire Safety in High-Rise Buildings: Is the Stay-Put Tactic a Misjudgement or Magnificent Strategy? Buildings. 11 (Art. 339). https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings11080339
Integrated Performance Optimization of Higher Education Buildings Using Low-Energy Renovation Process and User Engagement
Ahmed, A., Mateo-Garcia, M., Arewa, A. and Caratella, K. 2021. Integrated Performance Optimization of Higher Education Buildings Using Low-Energy Renovation Process and User Engagement. Energies. 14 (5), p. 1475. https://doi.org/10.3390/en14051475
Analysis of accidents caused by human factors in the oil and gas industry using the HFACS-OGI framework
Nwankwo, C. D., Arewa, A., Theophilus, S. C. and Esenowo, V. N. 2021. Analysis of accidents caused by human factors in the oil and gas industry using the HFACS-OGI framework. International Journal of Occupational Safety and Ergonomics. 28 (3), pp. 1642-1654. https://doi.org/10.1080/10803548.2021.1916238
Energy Efficiency in Buildings and Excess Summer Mortality in the UK
Abdi A. M., Arewa, A., Tyrer M. and Ugulu R. A. 2020. Energy Efficiency in Buildings and Excess Summer Mortality in the UK. International Conference on Civil Infrastructure and Construction (CIC2020). Doha, Qatar 02 - 05 Feb 2020 Qatar University Press. https://doi.org/10.29117/cic.2020.0017
Unfair Payment Issues in Construction: Re-thinking Alternative Payment Method for Tier-1 Contractors to Subcontractors
Swai, L., Arewa, A. and Ugulu, R. A. 2020. Unfair Payment Issues in Construction: Re-thinking Alternative Payment Method for Tier-1 Contractors to Subcontractors. International Conference on Civil Infrastructure and Construction (CIC2020). Doha, Qatar 02 - 05 Feb 2020 Qatar University Press. https://doi.org/10.29117/cic.2020.0012
Project Specific Constraints Influencing Productivity of Tradespeople in the Nigerian Construction Industry
Ugulu, R. A., Arewa, A. and Allen, S. 2020. Project Specific Constraints Influencing Productivity of Tradespeople in the Nigerian Construction Industry. Built Environment Project and Asset Management. 10 (1), pp. 94-109. https://doi.org/10.1108/BEPAM-10-2018-0124
Effects of emerging technologies in minimising variations in construction projects in the UK
Noruwa, B. I., Arewa, A. and Merschbrock, C. 2020. Effects of emerging technologies in minimising variations in construction projects in the UK. International Journal of Construction Management. 22 (11), pp. 2199-2206. https://doi.org/10.1080/15623599.2020.1772530
The Role of Emotional Intelligence Factors in Workers’ Occupational Health and Safety Performance — A Case Study of the Petroleum Industry
Ifelebuegu, A. O., Martins, O. A., Theophilus, S. C. and Arewa, A. 2019. The Role of Emotional Intelligence Factors in Workers’ Occupational Health and Safety Performance — A Case Study of the Petroleum Industry. Safety. 5 (Art. 30). https://doi.org/10.3390/safety5020030
The application of Bayesian – Layer of Protection Analysis method for risk assessment of critical subsea gas compression systems
Arewa, A., Ifelebuegu, A. O., Awotu-Ukiri, E. O., Theophilus, S. C. and Bassey, E. 2018. The application of Bayesian – Layer of Protection Analysis method for risk assessment of critical subsea gas compression systems. Process Safety and Environmental Protection. 113 (2), pp. 305-318. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psep.2017.10.019
Human factors analysis and classification system for the oil and gas industry (HFACS-OGI)
Theophilus, S., Esenowo, V., Arewa, A., Ifelebuegu, A., Nnadi, E. O. and Mbanaso, F. 2017. Human factors analysis and classification system for the oil and gas industry (HFACS-OGI). Reliability Engineering and System Safety . 167, pp. 168-176. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ress.2017.05.036
The Culture of Construction Organisations: the Epitome of Institutionalised Corruption
Arewa, A. and Farrell, P. 2015. The Culture of Construction Organisations: the Epitome of Institutionalised Corruption. Construction Economics and Building. 15 (3), pp. 59-71. https://doi.org/10.5130/AJCEB.v15i3.4619