Last reviewed: 27 July 2026. Figures and rules can change – always confirm on the official links.

Fatal workplace accidents and the sentences directors received have become a critical concern: 124 workers were killed in work-related accidents across the UK in 2024/25, according to the Health and Safety Executive’s latest annual figures published in July 2025. Directors are receiving suspended custodial sentences, disqualification orders and community sentences when failures in their organisations lead to death. If you run a business in Wymondham, Norwich, Attleborough, Thetford or Dereham, the question is simple: would your current safety arrangements protect your workforce and protect you personally from prosecution?

The Scale of the Problem

The HSE statistics overview shows that while fatalities have fallen from 223 twenty years ago in 2004/05, the number remains broadly in line with pre-pandemic levels. Construction and agriculture continue to be the most dangerous sectors, accounting for 35 and 23 deaths respectively in 2024/25.

Falls from height caused 35 deaths in 2024/25, representing over a quarter of all worker deaths. Agriculture, forestry and fishing continues to have the highest rate of fatal injury per 100,000 workers, followed by waste and recycling.

The cost is not just human. Injuries and ill health from current working conditions cost an estimated £22.9 billion in 2023/24.

Fatal Workplace Accidents and the Sentences Directors Received

Under section 37 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, if a health and safety offence is committed with the consent or connivance of, or is attributable to neglect by, any director, that person can be prosecuted individually. Those found guilty are liable for fines and imprisonment.

Recent cases published by the HSE show the range of sentences now being imposed:

• Roger Gibbons, director of RM Gibbons Ltd, was given a 16-week custodial sentence, suspended for 12 months, in May 2024 after an employee died crushed between a girder and a mobile elevating work platform basket. The company was fined £40,000.
• Wayne Griffiths, former director and site manager of Arthur Brook Limited, was given a ten-month custodial sentence, suspended for 18 months, in May 2024 following the death of a 26-year-old worker in September 2018.
• Joseph Smith, company director, was given a three-month prison sentence, suspended for 12 months, and ordered to pay £2,630 costs in December 2025 after a worker fell 15 feet. The company was fined £80,000.

Suspended sentences are still criminal convictions. They appear on a director’s record and can be activated if further offences are committed.

Disqualification and Community Sentences

Courts are also using the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986. Section 2(1) empowers the court to disqualify an individual convicted of an offence in connection with company management, including health and safety offences.

In May 2024, David Richard Barker, director of BSP (Knockholt) Limited, was disqualified from being a director for five years and sentenced to two 12-month community sentences (to run concurrently), including 12 months supervision and 80 hours unpaid work, for failing to comply with two HSE Improvement Notices.

A five-year disqualification can end a career. It prevents you from being a director, from promoting or forming a company, and from being involved in company management without court permission.

What the Law Says About Director Liability

Three pieces of legislation put directors personally at risk:

• Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, section 37: individual prosecution if an offence is committed with your consent, connivance or due to your neglect.
• Common law gross negligence manslaughter: if your own grossly negligent behaviour causes death, you face an unlimited fine and a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
• Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986: the court can disqualify you from acting as a director if you are convicted of an offence in connection with company management.

The definitive sentencing guidelines for health and safety offences, corporate manslaughter and food safety offences came into force on 1 February 2016 and remain in effect. Under the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act, the maximum penalty for organisations is an unlimited fine, and the court can additionally make a publicity order requiring the organisation to publish details of the conviction and fine.

What Norfolk Businesses Must Do

The law has not changed in the last twelve months, but the enforcement pattern is clear: the HSE will investigate, the Crown Prosecution Service will charge, and courts will impose custodial and disqualification sentences on directors where gross failures are found.

If you employ people in Wymondham, Norwich, Attleborough, Thetford or Dereham, you need:

• Up-to-date, site-specific risk assessments that identify the hazards your workforce actually faces, especially for work at height, mobile plant, confined spaces and lone working.
• A documented safe system of work for high-risk activities, communicated to and understood by every person who carries out that work.
• Competent supervision and regular refresher training for all operatives, not just a one-off induction.
• A record that you, as a director or senior manager, have taken reasonable steps to ensure compliance, including documented audits, toolbox talks and incident reviews.

Following an incident, the HSE will ask what you did to prevent it. If the answer is ‘nothing documented’ or ‘we meant to update the risk assessment’, that is neglect, and section 37 applies.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a director go to prison for a health and safety offence?

Yes. Under section 37 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, directors can be prosecuted individually and are liable for fines and imprisonment. Recent cases show custodial sentences of three months, ten months and 16 weeks, all suspended. Under common law, gross negligence manslaughter carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

What is a suspended custodial sentence?

A suspended sentence means you are sentenced to a period of imprisonment, but you do not go to prison immediately. The sentence is suspended for a set period (commonly 12 to 18 months). If you commit another offence during that period, the suspended sentence can be activated and you will serve the original term in addition to any new sentence. It remains a criminal conviction.

Can I be disqualified from being a director for a health and safety offence?

Yes. Under the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986, section 2(1), a court can disqualify you if you are convicted of an offence in connection with the management of a company, including health and safety offences. In May 2024, David Richard Barker was disqualified for five years for failing to comply with two HSE Improvement Notices.

What industries have the highest number of workplace deaths?

In 2024/25, construction had the highest number of deaths (35), followed by agriculture, forestry and fishing (23). Agriculture, forestry and fishing has the highest rate of fatal injury per 100,000 workers, followed by waste and recycling.

How Milne Safety Can Help

We have been advising Norfolk businesses since 1978. Our health and safety consultancy service includes site-specific risk assessments, COSHH and noise assessments, fire risk assessments, policy development and compliance audits. Our team includes CMIOSH and MIIRSM professionals: David Field (MD, CMIOSH MIIRSM RSP) and Alec Rodwell (Director, CMIOSH MIIRSM Dip RSA).

We deliver safety training at our Wymondham training centre or on your site across Wymondham, Norwich, Attleborough, Thetford and Dereham. Our accreditations include AITT (Association of Industrial Truck Trainers) for forklift training, IOSH Managing Safely and IOSH Working Safely, and Safety Pass Alliance (SPA) for the Petrol Retail and Food & Drink passports.

If you need to review your current safety arrangements, update your risk assessments or train your workforce, call us on 01953 607093 or visit our contact page. We are based at Unit 9, Philip Ford Way, Silfield Road, Wymondham, Norfolk NR18 9AQ.

The question is not whether the HSE will investigate the next incident. The question is whether your risk assessment and compliance services will stand up when they do.