Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974

Category: Statutes and regulation · Reviewed by the Apex broking team · Last reviewed 2026-08-22 · ~5 min read

Section 2: duties to employees

Section 2(1) imposes on every employer the duty to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of all its employees. Section 2(2) lists particular aspects without limiting that generality: the provision and maintenance of plant and systems of work that are safe and without risks to health; arrangements for safety in the use, handling, storage and transport of articles and substances; the provision of such information, instruction, training and supervision as is necessary; the maintenance of any place of work under the employer’s control in a safe condition, with safe access and egress; and the provision and maintenance of a safe working environment with adequate welfare facilities and arrangements.

Section 2(3) requires every employer, except in prescribed cases, to prepare and keep revised a written statement of its general health and safety policy and the organisation and arrangements for carrying it out, and to bring it to the notice of employees. Sections 2(4), (6) and (7) deal with safety representatives and safety committees.

Section 3: duties to everyone else

Section 3(1) requires every employer to conduct its undertaking in such a way as to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that persons not in its employment who may be affected are not thereby exposed to risks to their health or safety. This is the provision that catches contractors, visitors, members of the public, and the users of the goods and services the business provides. It is the section most often in play where a business relies heavily on subcontractors or works in public spaces.

Section 3(2) imposes a corresponding duty on self-employed persons who conduct an undertaking of a prescribed description — a narrowing made by the Deregulation Act 2015 with effect from 1 October 2015, so that the duty attaches by reference to the activities carried on rather than to self-employment as such.

Enforcement

Enforcement is by inspectors appointed by the Health and Safety Executive or, for certain premises, by local authorities. Section 21 allows an inspector who is of the opinion that a person is contravening, or has contravened in circumstances making repetition likely, one or more of the relevant statutory provisions to serve an improvement notice. Section 22 allows the service of a prohibition notice where activities carried on or likely to be carried on involve a risk of serious personal injury. Contravening either notice is an offence under section 33(1)(g).

Section 33(1)(a) makes it an offence to fail to discharge a duty under sections 2 to 7. Section 40 reverses the burden of proof on the qualification: in proceedings for an offence consisting of a failure to comply with a duty to do something so far as is practicable or reasonably practicable, it is for the accused to prove that it was not practicable or not reasonably practicable to do more than was in fact done. That is a significant feature of health and safety prosecutions and is not how the criminal law usually works.

Penalties

Schedule 3A, inserted by the Health and Safety (Offences) Act 2008, sets the mode of trial and maximum penalties. An offence under section 33(1)(a) consisting of a failure to discharge a duty under sections 2 to 6 is triable summarily or on indictment. On summary conviction the maximum is imprisonment for a term not exceeding the general limit in a magistrates’ court, or a fine, or both. On conviction on indictment it is imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, or a fine, or both. The fine is not subject to a statutory cap.

Section 37 provides that where an offence under the relevant statutory provisions committed by a body corporate is proved to have been committed with the consent or connivance of, or to be attributable to any neglect on the part of, a director, manager, secretary or other similar officer, that individual is guilty of the offence as well and may be punished accordingly.

The insurance position

A criminal fine under the 1974 Act cannot be insured. An indemnity against the consequences of one’s own criminal conduct is unenforceable as a matter of public policy, a principle applied to statutory penalties in Safeway Stores Ltd v Twigger [2010] EWCA Civ 1472. Costs awarded to the prosecution against a convicted defendant are generally treated the same way.

Legal defence costs are insurable and are widely covered. Employers’ and public liability policies commonly include a legal defence costs extension for health and safety prosecutions; standalone legal expenses policies and directors’ and officers’ policies cover the individual exposure under section 37. Wordings vary on the crucial points: whether cover extends to appeals, whether the insurer’s consent is needed before costs are incurred, whether panel solicitors must be used, and whether costs are repayable on conviction. These are worth reading before an incident rather than after one.

The civil consequences run on a separate track and are insurable in the ordinary way. Employers’ liability insurance is compulsory for most employers under the Employers’ Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969 and responds to employee injury claims; public liability insurance responds to claims by third parties. A single incident can therefore generate an uninsurable fine, an insurable defence cost, and an insurable civil claim at the same time.

Practical points

Because section 40 puts the burden on the defendant, the documents that decide a prosecution are the ones created before the incident: risk assessments, method statements, training records, maintenance logs, permits to work, and the evidence that the system was actually followed rather than merely written. Liability underwriters ask for the same material, and improvement or prohibition notices are disclosable at renewal on most proposal forms. The record that defends a prosecution is the record that supports the placement.

Frequently asked questions

Can I insure against a health and safety fine?

No. A criminal fine is uninsurable in English law as a matter of public policy, and prosecution costs awarded against a convicted defendant are generally treated the same way. Legal defence costs are insurable and are commonly covered.

What does 'so far as is reasonably practicable' mean?

It requires the risk to be weighed against the time, trouble and cost of the measures needed to avert it. Under section 40 it is for the accused to prove that it was not reasonably practicable to do more than was done.

What is the maximum penalty for a section 2 or 3 breach?

On conviction on indictment, imprisonment for up to two years, or a fine, or both. On summary conviction, imprisonment up to the general limit in a magistrates' court, or a fine, or both. The fine is not capped.

Can a director be prosecuted personally?

Yes. Section 37 makes an individual guilty of the same offence where the body corporate's offence was committed with their consent or connivance or was attributable to their neglect.

Related entries

• Health and Safety Executive
• Employers' Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969
• Employers' liability insurance
• Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007
• Public liability insurance
• Commercial insurance UK

This entry is part of the Apex Insurance Wiki. It states the position as at August 2026. Last reviewed 2026-08-22. Next review: 2027-02-22. It is general insurance information, not legal advice, and it is not regulated advice on a specific policy.

Apex Insurance Brokers Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN 724952). This page is general information, not advice on a specific policy.