Figures have recently been made available to show the HSE invoiced more than £5.5 million in the first year of the Fee For Intervention (FFI) scheme. Given this is the first year, we wonder what the charges will raise this year and in subsequent years; one thing you can be sure of, is it won’t be less.

Only this week we were asked to look at a problem for a County Council who had recently fallen foul of FFI.  Our task was to tailor some training to meet both the client’s needs and to satisfy the HSE inspector. As we learnt the HSE had originally gone in to look at controls for Legionella which they found no problems with but in doing so picked up on another issue which became chargeable under FFI.

You can imagine the frustration this has caused and it goes to prove that for the majority of businesses, if the HSE call then the result will most likely include a FFI bill.

Of course it may well be that for many the HSE won’t come calling and therefore you may feel you don’t have anything to fear. However as this scheme is raising substantial funds surely it will follow that more proactive inspections will be put on to the HSE agenda.

The information that has come out has shown the manufacturing and construction industries have paid the most with a combined 74% between the two.

Perhaps it’s now time to stop and think could you be doing more to protect your business and start making improvements before the HSE tells you too and issue you a bill for telling you.