An inspector from the Health and Safety Executive or the local council can visit a workplace at any reasonable time, usually without an appointment. For most small businesses the visit is unremarkable: the inspector looks around, asks some questions, asks to see a few documents and leaves with some advice. It only becomes expensive when the business cannot show that it manages its risks. This guide explains who inspects what, why they come, what they can do, what they ask for, and how to prepare so that the visit is routine.
Who inspects your business
Enforcement of health and safety law is split by activity. HSE inspectors cover higher-risk sectors such as construction, manufacturing, engineering, agriculture, utilities and waste. Local authority environmental health officers cover lower-risk premises such as offices, shops, hospitality, leisure, warehousing attached to retail and most consumer services. Fire safety is enforced separately by the fire and rescue authority. The powers and the approach are much the same whoever arrives, so this guide treats them together.
Why inspectors visit
- Proactive inspection. HSE and councils run programmes targeting particular sectors or risks, for example dust in construction, machinery guarding in manufacturing or gas safety in catering. Your business may be visited simply because of what it does.
- After a report. A RIDDOR report of a serious injury, dangerous occurrence or disease may prompt an investigation. See what RIDDOR requires.
- A concern or complaint. From an employee, a former employee, a member of the public or another business.
- Follow-up. To check that actions from a previous visit or an enforcement notice have been completed.
What an inspector can do
Inspectors have wide powers under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. They can enter premises at any reasonable time, or at any time if they believe there is danger. They can examine and investigate, take photographs, measurements and samples, require equipment to be left undisturbed, require documents to be produced and copied, and ask questions that a person must answer truthfully. Obstructing an inspector is an offence in itself.
If they find problems, the main tools are:
- Verbal or written advice, the most common outcome, with no formal action.
- A notification of contravention where HSE finds a material breach of the law. This triggers HSE's fee for intervention scheme, under which the business pays for the inspector's time at an hourly rate set by HSE, from the start of the visit until the matter is closed. Local authorities do not charge this fee.
- An improvement notice, requiring a breach to be remedied by a stated date, which must be at least 21 days away.
- A prohibition notice, stopping an activity that involves a risk of serious personal injury, either immediately or from a stated time, until the risk is dealt with.
- Prosecution, for the most serious breaches or where notices are ignored.
Notices can be appealed to an employment tribunal within 21 days. An improvement notice is suspended while the appeal is heard. A prohibition notice stays in force unless the tribunal directs otherwise.
What inspectors ask to see
The documents vary with the sector, but a small business should be able to put its hands on the following within a few minutes:
- The health and safety policy, with named responsibilities.
- Risk assessments for the main activities, and evidence that the controls in them are actually in use.
- COSHH assessments and safety data sheets for the substances on site.
- Training records: inductions, job-specific training, and competence for anything that needs it such as forklift trucks, abrasive wheels or working at height.
- Maintenance and inspection records: work equipment, statutory thorough examinations of lifting equipment, pressure systems, local exhaust ventilation, gas and electrical systems.
- The accident book, RIDDOR reports and any investigation records.
- Evidence of consultation with employees, such as minutes of a meeting where safety was discussed.
- Who the competent person is and what their competence rests on.
- First aid arrangements and the first aid needs assessment.
- Employers' liability insurance certificate and the health and safety law poster or leaflet.
Inspectors are far more interested in whether the controls work than in how thick the file is. A one-page risk assessment that matches what they saw on the shop floor is worth more than a fifty-page manual that does not.
What inspectors look at on the floor
Before they ask for any paper, most inspectors walk the workplace. Typical points of attention are housekeeping and access routes, machinery guarding and emergency stops, storage and racking, vehicle and pedestrian separation, work at height and ladders, electrical condition, chemical storage and labelling, personal protective equipment in use rather than on a hook, welfare facilities, and whether people on site can describe the risks of their own job. The gap between what the risk assessment says and what is happening is the thing they notice most.
How to prepare
Continuously, not the night before
You cannot prepare for an unannounced visit in a day. The businesses that handle inspections well are the ones that run a simple routine: a monthly check that actions are closed and records are current, periodic workplace inspections of their own, and an annual review of the whole set of documents. If you do not have that routine, a workplace inspection and audit by someone independent is the fastest way to see what an inspector would see.
Get the documents in order
Work through the list above. Where something is missing, create it properly rather than downloading a template. Where it is out of date, review it. Keep everything in one place, physical or digital, that more than one person can reach. Featherstone Safety Hub is built for exactly this: registers, training matrix, inspection records, actions and evidence live in one workspace with PDF export when you need to hand something over.
Fix what you can see
Walk your own premises as an inspector would. Blocked fire exits, missing guards, damaged cables, unlabelled containers and overloaded racking are cheap to fix and expensive to be found.
Decide who deals with the visit
Agree who will meet the inspector, who can produce documents and who has authority to agree actions. Make sure the staff know an inspector might visit and that they should answer honestly. Coaching staff to give particular answers is a bad idea for several reasons, not least that inspectors are good at spotting it.
On the day
- Ask for identification and the reason for the visit, then cooperate fully.
- Accompany the inspector, take your own notes and photographs, and ask them to explain any concern so you understand what is needed and why.
- Answer questions honestly. If you do not know, say so and find out. Do not guess.
- If something can be put right immediately and safely, do it there and then and say that you have.
- Do not argue about the law on the spot. If you disagree with a finding, note it and take advice afterwards.
- Before the inspector leaves, make sure you know what, if anything, they will send you and by when.
After the visit
If you received advice only, act on it anyway and record that you did. If you received a notification of contravention or a notice, read it carefully, note the dates, and build an action plan that addresses each point. Keep evidence of every action: photographs, invoices, revised documents, training records. Write to the inspector when the actions are complete. If you believe a notice is wrong, take advice quickly because the appeal window is short.
Inspections are often the moment a business realises it has been running on luck. If you would like someone to look at your arrangements before an inspector does, a compliance review from £395 gives you a prioritised list of what to fix, and retained support from £145 a month keeps it that way, with help on the phone if an inspector does arrive.
Frequently asked questions
Can an HSE inspector turn up without notice?
Yes. Inspectors from HSE and local authorities can enter a workplace at any reasonable time without an appointment, and at any time if they believe there is a dangerous situation. Some proactive inspections are announced in advance, but you should assume they will not be.
What is HSE fee for intervention?
A cost recovery scheme. If an HSE inspector finds a material breach of health and safety law and writes to tell you so, the business is charged for the inspector's time at an hourly rate set by HSE, covering the visit, any follow-up and correspondence until the matter is resolved. Local authority inspectors do not charge this fee.
What is the difference between an improvement notice and a prohibition notice?
An improvement notice requires you to remedy a breach by a set date, at least 21 days away, and you can keep working in the meantime. A prohibition notice stops an activity that carries a risk of serious personal injury, either immediately or from a set time, until the risk has been dealt with.
Can I appeal against an enforcement notice?
Yes. Appeals go to an employment tribunal and must be lodged within 21 days of the notice being served. An improvement notice is suspended until the appeal is decided. A prohibition notice remains in force unless the tribunal directs otherwise. Take advice quickly if you intend to appeal.
Do I have to let an inspector interview my staff?
Inspectors can ask anyone they think may have relevant information to answer questions and to sign a declaration that the answers are true. Answers given this way cannot be used in evidence against the person who gave them. Staff should answer honestly, and you should not instruct them to give particular answers.