This document summarizes the UK Health and Safety Executive's (HSE) policy of recovering costs, known as "fee for intervention", when a business breaches health and safety law and requires intervention. It explains that HSE will recover costs of any inspection, investigation, notices, or follow up required to address a "material breach" of safety regulations. Businesses will receive an invoice for these costs and have options to query or dispute the invoice through a two-level process. The document provides details on how fees are calculated, invoices are issued, and disputes are handled.

1. Fee for intervention
What you need to know
Trial version
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for TesT purposes
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2. About this
leaflet
This leaflet explains how HSE’s
policy of fee for intervention
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and associated processes
operate. It is for employers and
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others in control of workplaces
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and those in business who
have duties under health and
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safety law (‘dutyholders’).
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3. Fee for intervention
What is fee for intervention? How will costs be recovered?
If a business or organisation has broken When a material breach has been
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(breached) health and safety law, an identified, HSE will recover costs from
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HSE inspector may need to take action the start of the inspection/investigation
with a formal written requirement to up to and including the point where
correct the breach. If this happens HSE HSE intervention is completed. HSE will
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will recover all of the costs of making recover costs by sending the business
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this intervention. This is known as ‘fee
for intervention’.
an invoice for the work carried out.
If there is a breach that does not require
the inspector to intervene (ie a non-
What is a material breach? material breach), no cost will be
recovered. Similarly, businesses that
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A material breach of health and safety follow (comply with) the law will not pay
law is when a dutyholder has fallen a penny.
below the legal standard such that an
HSE inspector is required to intervene
and make a formal written (eg by way of
improvement or prohibition notices,
instant visit report, email or letter)
requirement to correct the breach.
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4. Fee for intervention
What Hse activities will be How will i be invoiced?
included in the fee?
HSE will issue an invoice setting out the
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In addition to recovering the cost of the work that has been done the time it has
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inspection/investigation time spent on taken and the total cost for the work.
site, costs will also be recovered for the Where possible the invoice will be sent
time HSE spends: within 30 days of the end of the month
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when the work took place. If work
■ writing letters and reports;
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■ drafting and issuing improvement or
prohibition notices;
■ revisiting the site to collect evidence
spans several months you will be
invoiced each month for the work that
has taken place so you may receive
more than one invoice from HSE.
or take witness statements;
■ follow-up interventions (eg site visits,
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phone calls); and How do i pay the Hse
■ specialist support required by HSE invoice?
to help with the intervention.
The invoice provides information on how
How much will it cost? to pay. HSE’s preferred payment
method is via BACS to the bank
The intervention fee is calculated by account detailed on the invoice, quoting
multiplying the total time spent on that the HSE invoice number. HSE will
particular cost-recoverable activity by expect to receive payment within 30
the cost recovery hourly rate. Details of days of the invoice date. If payment is
the current HSE rate for fee for not received within 30 days, HSE will
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intervention can be found on the HSE start its normal debt recovery procedure
website (www.web link active in April). (as outlined on the HSE website (www.
web link active in April).
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5. Fee for intervention
invoice queries How will disputes be handled?
If you have a query about an invoice (eg Level 1 disputes will be dealt with by an
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methods of payment, the total amount HSE principal inspector who will
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of the invoice or changing the invoicing consider whether the work performed
address), you should contact the HSE by HSE was cost recoverable in
Cost Recovery Team. You will need accordance with HSE’s policies and
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your invoice number for our team to procedures and whether the costs
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help you. The costs of resolving queries
about the invoice will be met by HSE. If
agreement cannot be reached then your
query will be escalated to a dispute.
charged reflect the costs to HSE of
carrying out that work.
The outcome of a dispute
If you disagree with the decision made
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at the intervention that your organisation Once a dispute has been considered,
was in material breach of the law or you will be informed of the outcome –
about the amount of time that HSE has whether the queried invoice is upheld,
charged for, you can dispute the cancelled or altered and the reasons for
invoice. You must raise a dispute in the decision.
writing (address provided on back page)
within 20 days of the invoice date If your dispute is upheld the cost of
stating specific reasons for the dispute. resolving your dispute will be met by
This is a Level 1 dispute. HSE and your invoice will be cancelled
or varied. If the disputed invoice has
already been paid, then the amount paid
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will be refunded or offset against any
outstanding HSE invoice you may have.
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6. Fee for intervention
If your dispute is not upheld HSE will upheld, HSE will recover the costs of
recover its share of the costs of handling both levels of the dispute at
handling the dispute at the fee for the fee for intervention rate and issue a
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intervention rate and issue a separate separate invoice for this amount. HSE
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invoice for this amount. HSE will then will then expect all outstanding invoices
expect all outstanding invoices to be to be paid within 30 days of the most
paid within 30 days of the most recent recent invoice date.
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invoice date.
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Challenging the outcome of
a dispute
requirements made in a
letter, instant visit report
or notice
If your dispute is not upheld and you are If you wish to discuss the specific
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not satisfied with the response, you can requirements made in an HSE letter,
escalate it to a Level 2 dispute and it instant visit report or notice you should
will be dealt with by an HSE senior contact the inspector who wrote the
manager. You must do this within instant visit report/letter/notice. Their
10 days from the date of the HSE contact details are shown on the instant
response to the Level 1 dispute stating visit report/letter/notice. Please do not
why you disagree with the decision contact the Cost Recovery Team as
taken in the Level 1 process. they are unable to assist with enquiries
about the requirements of a letter,
Once the Level 2 dispute has been instant visit report or notice.
considered, you will be informed of the
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outcome – whether the disputed invoice
is upheld, cancelled or altered and the
reasons why. Again, if the dispute is
upheld, the cost of resolving it will be
met by HSE and the invoice will be
cancelled or varied. If the dispute is not
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7. Fee for intervention
appealing against an Hse Contacting Hse
notice
To query an invoice or to dispute
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Appeals against HSE improvement or the decision
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prohibition notices will still be heard by HSE Cost Recovery Team
an Employment Tribunal. If you intend Health and Safety Executive
to appeal an enforcement notice served Building 6
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by HSE you should do so using the Redgrave Court
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form (ETS19) supplied when you
received the notice. Please do not
contact the HSE Cost Recovery Team
as they are unable to help with enquiries
Bootle L20 7HS
Telephone
Email
regarding an appeal against a notice. Questions regarding an HSE letter,
instant visit report or notice
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More information on fee for intervention, HSE inspector
including further details of the queries Contact details provided on letter,
and disputes procedures is available on instant visit report or notice
the HSE website (www.web link active
in April).
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8. For information about health and safety, or to report
inconsistencies or inaccuracies in this guidance, visit
www.hse.gov.uk/. You can view HSE guidance online
and order priced publications from the website.
HSE priced publications are also available from bookshops.
© Crown copyright If you wish to reuse this information
visit www.hse.gov.uk/copyright.htm for details.
First published 09/11.
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Hse42 (Trial version) 09/11
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