Last reviewed: 05 October 2026. Figures and rules can change – always confirm on the official links.

Ignoring HSE enforcement notices is a criminal offence, and in 2026 the courts have punished it with company fines of £7,200 to £30,000, costs orders of up to £30,000 and, in one case, a five-year director disqualification. HSE reported that in 2024/25 it issued over 4,400 notices and completed 246 criminal prosecutions with a 96% conviction rate, with over £33 million awarded in fines. If an inspector served a notice on your business tomorrow, would you know exactly what it required, by when, and who was responsible for acting on it?

What HSE enforcement notices actually are

HSE inspectors have two main formal tools. A Prohibition Notice requires an activity to stop immediately where the inspector believes it involves a risk of serious personal injury or ill health. An immediate prohibition notice takes effect the moment it is served. An Improvement Notice requires specific remedial action to address a contravention of health and safety law within a set timeframe, and takes effect when specified but not earlier than 21 days after issue.

Both are public. Enforcement notices are published on HSE’s register 5 weeks after they are served and stay on the public register for 5 years. Your customers, competitors, insurers and prospective employees can all find them. That reputational cost sits on top of any fine.

What it costs to ignore one: the 2026 prosecutions

A notice is not a suggestion. Failing to comply with one is an offence contrary to Section 33(1)(g) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. HSE’s guidance on enforcement offences and penalties states that courts will usually fine an offender, that there is often no limit on the amount of the fine, and that in certain circumstances a court may sentence an individual to up to 2 years in prison, as well as or instead of a fine.

The cases HSE has publicised this year show how that plays out in practice:

• On 7 January 2026 at Snaresbrook Crown Court, a London construction company was fined £7,200 for failing to comply with a Prohibition Notice. Its director was fined £10,800 and ordered to pay £900 in costs. HSE’s account of the case is in its press release on the director and company fined after failing to comply with enforcement notices.
• On 8 January 2026 at Luton Magistrates’ Court, a Bedfordshire engineering firm was fined £27,200 and ordered to pay £30,000 in costs for failing to comply with Improvement Notices. The costs exceeded the fine.
• On 16 June 2026 a skip manufacturer was found guilty of failing to comply with two Improvement Notices contrary to Section 33(1)(g). It was fined £30,000 and ordered to pay £4571 in costs along with a victim surcharge of £2000.
• On 20 August 2026 at Truro Crown Court, a Cornwall sawmill company was fined £20,000 and ordered to pay £5,000 in costs. Its director was fined £5,000 and ordered to pay £2,500 in costs, and the court granted HSE’s application to disqualify the director from acting as a company director for five years. HSE reported the case in its release on the Cornwall sawmill and company director fined after failing to act on health and safety notices.

Notice the pattern. Directors are being prosecuted personally, alongside their companies. A director fined £10,800 paid more than the company. A director banned for five years cannot simply start again under a new name. These are the consequences of leaving a notice in the in-tray.

The landmark that matters for health surveillance

On 3 July 2026 HSE 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. HSE described it as a ‘landmark enforcement action’ in its release on the enforcement action against an occupational health service provider.

Why does this matter to an employer in Norfolk? Because it signals that HSE is now scrutinising the quality of health surveillance itself, not just whether a box has been ticked. If your workforce is exposed to noise, dust, fumes or substances that affect the skin or lungs, you need surveillance that is competent, properly recorded and acted upon. Our lung function testing, audiometric testing, skin surveillance and face fit testing are delivered by our own team, at our Wymondham centre or on your site.

Why this matters in Wymondham, Norwich, Attleborough, Thetford and Dereham

The cases above involved a construction firm, an engineering business, a skip manufacturer and a sawmill. Norfolk has every one of those sectors, along with food and drink production, agriculture, logistics and warehousing. An HSE inspector who visits a site in Thetford or Dereham applies exactly the same law as one visiting Luton or Truro. There is no local discount.

Ask yourself the uncomfortable questions now, while they are still hypothetical. Would your risk assessments survive an inspection? Are your COSHH assessments current? Is your forklift training certificated by an accredited provider? If a notice arrived with a 21-day deadline, who in your business would own it?

What you must do if you receive a notice

• Read it in full on the day it arrives. Identify whether it is an Improvement Notice with a deadline or a Prohibition Notice requiring an immediate stop.
• If it is a Prohibition Notice, stop the activity immediately. Do not wait for advice before complying.
• Assign a named senior person to own the response and record every action taken with dates.
• Address the actual contravention described, not just the symptom. Inspectors return to check.
• Get competent advice early. The Bedfordshire case shows that costs can exceed the fine itself once a matter reaches court.
• Remember the notice becomes public after 5 weeks and stays visible for 5 years. Plan how you will demonstrate the problem has been fixed.

Better still, do not wait for the notice. Our health and safety consultancy carries out risk, COSHH, fire and noise assessments, policy reviews and audits that find the gaps an inspector would find, before the inspector does.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between an Improvement Notice and a Prohibition Notice?

An Improvement Notice requires specific remedial action within a set timeframe and takes effect no earlier than 21 days after issue. A Prohibition Notice requires an activity to stop immediately where HSE believes there is a risk of serious personal injury or ill health. An immediate prohibition notice takes effect at once.

Can I be prosecuted personally as a director?

Yes. In January 2026 a London director was fined £10,800 plus £900 costs, and in August 2026 a Cornwall director was fined £5,000 plus £2,500 costs and disqualified from acting as a director for five years. HSE guidance also states an individual can be sentenced to up to 2 years in prison.

Is there a maximum fine for failing to comply with a notice?

HSE’s guidance states that there is often no limit on the amount of fine a court can award. The 2026 cases HSE has publicised ranged from £7,200 to £30,000 for companies, before costs and surcharges.

Have the rules on enforcement notices changed recently?

No, no legislative changes to enforcement notice rules or penalties were identified in the last 12 months. The framework still operates under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. What has changed is the visible appetite to prosecute, including the first ever Prohibition Notice against an occupational health provider.

Get ahead of the inspector

Every notice starts with a contravention that was already there when the inspector walked in. A compliance review, up-to-date risk assessments and properly accredited training are how you remove it first. We have been doing this work from Wymondham since 1978, and our directors David Field and Alec Rodwell are both Chartered Members of IOSH. We deliver AITT accredited forklift training, IOSH Managing Safely and Working Safely, SPA passports, first aid and health surveillance at our own training centre in Wymondham or on your site anywhere across Norwich, Attleborough, Thetford and Dereham.

Call us on 01953 607093 or contact us to arrange a compliance review or book a course. We would rather help you now than read about your business on the HSE prosecutions page later.