From 1 February 2016, any individual farmers or small farming businesses will receive much tougher penalties for breaching health and safety laws.
The rules apply to anyone over the age of 18 who is found guilty of health and safety offences, food safety and hygiene breaches, and corporate manslaughter, as set out by the Sentencing Council in its new guidelines.
As part of the new rules, fines of up to £450,000 can be issued to farming businesses with a turnover of up to £2 million if they are found to have breached the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. Larger businesses with a turnover in excess of £50 million can be fined up to £10 million for the same offences.
Individual farmers found to have broken the law can now face unlimited fines and receive up to two years in prison. Before the changes came into effect, judges could only impose custodial sentences in very specific circumstances, with fines in the lower courts limited to £20,000.
However, under the new rules, fines for breaches of health and safety will depend on the following:
– The level of culpability (low, medium, high and very high)
– The risk of causing harm and the level of potential harm
– The turnover of the offending business
Phil Cookson, a partner at the agricultural law firm Roythornes Solicitors, speaking to Farmers Weekly said, “We can expect to see some small farm businesses hit really hard if they end up on the wrong end of a health and safety prosecution.
“Everyone in the industry wants to see farmers’ health and safety record take a turn for the better, for obvious reasons.
“These new fine ranges should act as a wake-up call; the days of businesses cost-cutting on health and safety thinking fines will be manageable are a thing of the past.”
