Working week

Working week

Unions are calling for the removal of the limits on fines for health and safety cases following the publication of a Health and Safety Executive report which suggested that amounts meted out as punishment were dropping.

Timothy Walker, the director general of the HSE, said: "There has been no substantial change to reflect the seriousness of health and safety cases since the Court of Appeal said in 1998 that fines for health and safety were too low."

The HSE's annual report suggests the average fine for health and safety cases across the UK fell by 21%, from £11,141 last time to £8,828 this year. A copy of the latest Offences and Penalties report can be downloaded from the HSE at: www.hse.gov.uk/enforce/off02-03.pdf or call HSE's InfoLine, tel: 08701 545500.

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