The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has issued its first ever Prohibition Notice against an occupational health service provider, following findings that inadequate health surveillance was putting workers at risk of serious and irreversible harm.

The action marks a significant milestone in HSE’s regulation of occupational health provision and is evidence of the regulator’s focus on the prevention of ill-health. This enforcement sends a clear signal that substandard occupational health services will not be tolerated where they create real risks to workers’ health.

HSE inspectors found that the provider was delivering health surveillance through personnel who were inadequately trained, unqualified, and unsupervised. The ineffective surveillance meant that early signs of serious occupational diseases — including occupational asthma, dermatitis, and noise-induced hearing loss — were at risk of going undetected, leaving workers exposed to wood dust and noise without appropriate intervention.

A Prohibition Notice was issued to stop this activity on the grounds that it created a risk of serious personal injury.

HSE subsequently issued an Improvement Notice after finding that the provider’s health surveillance arrangements were fundamentally unsuitable. Inspectors identified a lack of competent occupational health oversight, inadequate clinical governance, no quality assurance processes, and no clear procedures for escalating adverse findings or reviewing workplace controls.

HSE Occupational Health Inspector Julie Wood said: “This is the first time HSE has taken enforcement action of this kind against an occupational health service provider, and we have not done so lightly. It reflects the seriousness with which we view the quality of occupational health provision and our determination to act where substandard services are putting people in harm’s way.

“Health surveillance exists to protect workers from work-related health conditions that can cause permanent, life-changing harm. When it is carried out poorly, employers are given false assurance and workers are left unknowingly at risk.

“We expect occupational health providers to demonstrate genuine competence, proper clinical governance, and clear processes for acting on what they find. Anything less is a failure of the workers these services are meant to protect.”

Health surveillance is a legal requirement for many employers and exists to identify occupational diseases early so that appropriate action can then be taken to protect the affected worker and their colleagues. When health surveillance is carried out poorly, it creates a false sense of assurance for employers while leaving workers unknowingly at risk.

This case underlines the importance of occupational health services being delivered by competent, appropriately qualified professionals with robust clinical governance in place. Supporting employers to access competent occupational health services is a key part of HSE’s strategy to reduce work-related ill health, alongside ensuring that where health surveillance is legally required it is carried out effectively. HSE expects employers to satisfy themselves that the occupational health providers they appoint are capable of delivering services that meet legal requirements and help protect workers from preventable occupational disease.

Further information:

1. The HSE public enforcement register can be found at www.hse.gov.uk.
2. To account for the appeals process and internal quality assurance, enforcement notices are published 5 weeks after they are served
3. A Prohibition Notice requires an activity to stop immediately where HSE believes it involves a risk of serious personal injury or ill health.
4. An Improvement Notice requires specific remedial action to be taken within a set timeframe to address a contravention of health and safety law.
5. Health surveillance is required under a range of regulations including the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH) and the Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has authorised a Crown Censure of the Ministry of Defence, and the prosecution of defence contractor Rheinmetall BAE Systems Land Ltd.

This action follows an investigation into a fatal tank explosion in Pembrokeshire in 2017 which killed two soldiers and left a third seriously injured.

Corporal Darren Neilson, 31, and Corporal Matthew Hatfield, 27, died when an L30 gun exploded on a Challenger 2 tank at Castlemartin Range in Pembrokeshire on 14 June 2017 and injured two other soldiers, leaving one with life changing injuries.

Rheinmetall BAE Systems Land Ltd was responsible for producing the Safety Case for the tank and gun, while the Ministry of Defence held ultimate responsibility for the health, safety and welfare of its soldiers, and for the suitability and sufficiency of the Safety Case.

Following an investigation by HSE inspectors, a file was passed to HSE’s legal services division for review, which in accordance with the Code for Crown Prosecutors has authorised:

1. A Crown Censure against the Ministry of Defence for failing to ensure the health, safety and welfare of soldiers, under Section 2 of the Health & Safety at Work etc Act (1974)
2. A charge against Rheinmetall BAE Systems Land Ltd (formerly BAE Systems Global Combat Systems Ltd) for failing to ensure the health and safety of persons not in its employment, under Section 3 of the Health & Safety at Work etc Act (1974)

Neither the authorisation of criminal charges nor a Crown Censure represents a finding of guilt. No other organisations or individuals have been charged in connection with this incident.

Further information:

Crown Censure 

A Crown Censure is the maximum sanction available to HSE against a Crown body. A decision to authorise a Crown Censure is not a formal finding of guilt – it is equivalent to a decision to authorise criminal charges, in line with the Code for Crown Prosecutors.

Following the decision to issue a Crown Censure, a formal hearing will take place to confirm the censure.

If a censure is confirmed at a hearing, it acts as an official reprimand and provides a lasting, public record of a Crown body’s failure to comply with the law. There is no financial penalty.

A record of Crown Censures issued by HSE is available at: Crown Censures taken by HSE since 1 April 1999

Timelines

The Crown Censure of MoD and criminal charges against Rheinmetall BAE Systems Land Ltd are separate proceedings and run on different timelines.

Media are encouraged to seek legal advice before publishing any story which could prejudice any future trial of Rheinmetall BAE Systems Land Ltd.

The Contempt of Court Act 1981 strict liability rule applies.

• 126 workers died in work-related incidents in 2025/26

• New analysis comparing rates of fatal injury in workers from a wide range of countries from around the world supports Great Britain’s position as one of the safest places in the world to work

• 2,146 mesothelioma deaths in 2024 through past exposure to asbestos

Great Britain continues to be one of the safest places in the world to work, according to new analysis published today (1 July) by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

The analysis comes alongside the annual release of HSE’s statistics for work-related fatalities for 2025/26, which show that 126 workers were killed in work-related incidents in Great Britain (GB).

HSE has this year developed new analysis comparing the level and trend of fatal injuries to workers in GB with a selection of 35 other countries from around the world, meaning for the first time the results can be compared with countries outside Europe. This analysis provides further supporting evidence that GB is maintaining its position as one of the safest places to work.

Excluding the years affected by the coronavirus pandemic (2019/20-2021/22), the number of worker deaths in 2025/26 is provisionally the lowest number recorded in a single year, comparing to 217 fatalities twenty years ago (2005/06) and 495 in 1981.

The industries with the highest number of deaths continue to be construction (25) and agriculture, forestry and fishing (22). Of all main industry sectors, agriculture, forestry and fishing continues to have the highest rate of fatal injury per 100,000  workers (8.09) followed by waste and recycling (5.47). This compares to an average 0.37 fatal injuries per 100,000 workers across all industries combined.

The most common cause of fatal injuries continues to be falls from a height (31), representing around a quarter of worker deaths in 2025/26.

Workers aged 60 and over accounted for around a third of all fatalities during the year (40) despite that age group accounting for just 12 per cent of the workforce.

A further 104 people who were not at work were killed as a result of work-related incidents in 2025/26. This refers to members of the public who were not directly working themselves at the time of the incident.

HSE’s Chief Executive Sarah Albon said:

“Every one of these numbers represents a loved one lost; serving as a powerful reminder of the importance of the work we do.

“We can be proud that Great Britain remains one of the safest places in the world to work, and the new analysis we have developed this year, for the first time, allows us to compare our safety record with a wide range of other advanced economies.”

The figures relate to work-related accidents and do not include deaths arising from occupational diseases or diseases which arise from certain occupational exposures.

The HSE has also published the annual figures for mesothelioma, a cancer caused by past exposure to asbestos. These show that 2,146 people died from the disease in Great Britain in 2024, representing a fall of 109 compared with 2023 and substantially lower than the average of 2,508 deaths per year over the ten-year period 2011-2020.

Many current mesothelioma deaths still reflect exposure to asbestos that often occurred before the 1980s and annual deaths are expected to continue declining during the next decade.

Further information:

• The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety. We are dedicated to protecting people and places and helping everyone lead safer and healthier lives.

• Prior to 1981 only fatal injury numbers to employees were reported to enforcing authorities.

• The international comparisons report findings show how other countries’ work-related fatal injury rates compare to Great Britain, and whether those relative rates are going up or down over time. They are based on statistical models, not direct comparisons, so should be treated as estimates rather than definitive figures.

• These findings should not be used to rank countries or compare non-GB countries against each other — only against Great Britain.

•  For additional information:

• the statistics webpage – Health and safety statistics – HSE

• the latest published fatal injury statistics – Work-related fatal injuries in Great Britain – HSE

• the report ‘international comparisons of rate of fatal injury to workers Comparisons of work-related fatal injuries between Great Britain and other countries

• the latest report on mesothelioma statistics Mesothelioma in Great Britain

• Bricklayer fell more than two metres through an unguarded gap in a balustrade into a basement lightwell.
• No scaffolding or other protective measures were in place before employees began work.
• HSE found company failed to carry out a task-specific risk assessment or method statement for the work.

A construction company has been fined after a worker sustained life-changing injuries when he fell more than two metres while replacing steps at a residential property in Leamington Spa.

On 16 July 2024, 65-year-old Nicholas Crow, a bricklayer employed by Sibbasbridge Limited, was working at a domestic property on Binswood Avenue in Leamington Spa when he fell through a gap in a balustrade into a basement lightwell approximately 2.6 metres below.

The gap had been created the previous day when railings were removed to allow the old steps to be taken out. While helping to install new steps, Mr Crow fell through the opening and landed on the floor below.

Mr Crow suffered serious injuries, including head trauma and a stroke. He now experiences difficulty writing and holding objects, has mobility issues requiring the occasional use of a wheelchair, and has been left with speech and memory impairments.

In a victim personal statement, Nick’s wife Sarah said:

“My children feel that his best years have been taken away from him – what he worked for, for nearly 50 years of his working life. To have these taken away at such a late stage is deeply regrettable, especially as he deserves more.

“Nick was quiet, reliable, and the heart of our very close, extended family. The loss of his steadfast, constant love and support for all of us just cannot be measured.

“I experience living grief for the loss of my Nick every single day and I always will. I know Nick is grieving too – he suffers the same desolation and despair that engulf and overwhelm me on bad days. It is deeply painful to both experience and witness.”

(photos from the scene)

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that Sibbasbridge Limited failed to put in place suitable and sufficient measures to prevent a fall from height. The company did not produce a task-specific risk assessment or method statement for the work, and failed to ensure that scaffolding or other protective measures were in place before employees began replacing the steps at the property.

HSE guidance states that employers must take suitable and sufficient measures to prevent falls when working at height. This includes properly planning the work, carrying out task-specific risk assessments, and putting in place physical safeguards such as scaffolding, guardrails or coverings to prevent falls.

Further guidance can be found here: Work at Height – HSE.

Sibbasbridge Limited, of 175a Evesham Road, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 6(3) of The Work at Height Regulations 2005.

The company was fined £16,000 and ordered to pay £7,638 in costs at Birmingham Magistrates’ Court on 29 June 2026.

HSE Inspector Zach Morris said:

“This incident was entirely preventable. Sibbasbridge failed to properly plan the works and put suitable measures in place to prevent a fall.

“Falls from height are one of the leading causes of workplace injury, and companies must ensure that all work at height is properly planned, risk-assessed and carried out using appropriate control measures to protect workers. HSE will not hesitate to take enforcement action against duty holders which fail to protect their employees while working at height.

“My thoughts remain with Mr Crow and his family, as he continues to live with the lasting effects of the serious injuries he sustained that day.”

This HSE prosecution was brought by HSE enforcement lawyer Edward Parton and paralegal officer Thomas Smith.

Further information:

1. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety. We are dedicated to protecting people and places, and helping everyone lead safer and healthier lives.
2. More information about the legislation referred to in this case is available.
3. Further details on the latest HSE news releases is available.
4. Relevant guidance can be found here: https://www.hse.gov.uk/work-at-height/
5. HSE does not pass sentences, set guidelines or collect any fines imposed. Relevant sentencing guidelines must be followed unless the court is satisfied that it would be contrary to the interests of justice to do so.  The sentencing guidelines for health and safety offences can be found here.

• 20-tonne tipper truck fell off edge of excavation ramp
• The driver of the truck suffered multiple injuries
• The joint HS2 venture set up by Skanska Construction UK Limited, Costain Limited and Strabag AG

A joint venture working on the HS2 rail project has been fined after the driver of a 20-tonne tipper truck was injured when his vehicle fell off the edge of an excavation ramp.

The incident happened on 27 July 2021, at a site in Copthall North near Uxbridge, West London. The site was being run by SCS Railways, a venture set up by three major construction companies – Skanska Construction UK Limited, Costain Limited and Strabag AG.

The tipper truck fell approximately two metres and landed on the driver’s side. The man behind the wheel suffered a broken nose, cut hand, and a shoulder injury.

Inspectors from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) visited the site after the incident and found that there were no signs on the haulage routes being used. They also identified that there was no edge protection in place to prevent vehicles going over the edge of the ramp, and that excavations adjacent to some of the vehicle routes had unsupported, vertical faces which were at risk of collapse.

The incident occurred in an area where SCS Railways was building a ‘cut and cover tunnel’. These are shallow tunnels built on the surface before being buried, with trees, plants, and shrubs planted on top. Material from the excavation was to be reused, removing the need for it to be taken off site.

SCS Railways had contracted another company – ACE Grab Hire and Haulage Limited (ACE) – to transport excavation material via 20-tonne tipper trucks to an area under the control of another joint venture working on HS2, Align JV.  ACE drivers had been operating at the site for about two weeks by the time the incident occurred.

The subsequent HSE investigation found that on the morning of the incident, the SCS earthworks team changed their working area after an Align JV representative found the original material could not be used. This meant moving the excavator’s loading position and creating a new traffic route – but the change inadvertently left an unprotected edge on the bank above.

When the first ACE tipper truck driver used the higher-level bank instead of the intended new route, his vehicle slipped on the ramp. The next ACE driver followed the same path – and his vehicle veered off the edge of the bank.

HSE guidance on the management of vehicle movements on construction sites can be found in the HSE publication HSG 144, The safe use of vehicles on construction sites. This states that physical barriers, such as safety banks, should be provided at the edges of excavations. Guidance on excavations can also be found at Excavations – HSE. Haul roads on construction sites are also classed as temporary works and guidance can be found at Temporary Works – HSE.

SCS Railways, of 1 Hercules Way, Leavesden, Watford, pleaded guilty to contravening section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. It was fined £400,000 and ordered to pay costs of £8,974 at Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court on 16 June 2026.

HSE Inspector Gordon Carson said:

“SCS had detailed procedures in place for much of the work at the site, including temporary works schemes for excavations.

“However, its failure to properly plan and promptly communicate changes in vehicle routes created unsafe conditions for the drivers of tipper trucks.

“The consequences of this could have been even more serious than they were for the driver involved in this incident.”

The investigation was carried out by HM inspectors Saif Deen and Gordon Carson, and the prosecution brought by HSE lawyer Andrew Siddall and paralegal Benjamin Stobbart.

Further information:

1. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety. We are dedicated to protecting people and places, and helping everyone lead safer and healthier lives.
2. More information about the legislation referred to in this case is available.
3. Further details on the latest HSE news releases is available.
4. Guidance on the management of vehicle movements on construction sites can be found in the HSE publication HSG 144, The safe use of vehicles on construction sites. Guidance on excavations can be found at Excavations – HSE
5. HSE does not pass sentences, set guidelines or collect any fines imposed. Relevant sentencing guidelines must be followed unless the court is satisfied that it would be contrary to the interests of justice to do so. The sentencing guidelines for health and safety offences in England and Wales can be found here and for those in Scotland here.