Health and Safety Executive bares teeth with increased fines

The Star Wars fine comes only two weeks after Merlin Attractions Limited was fined £5m for what was described as a ‘needless and avoidable accident’ on its Smiler roller coaster at Alton Towers.

Since 2015 there has been an increase in the number of fines over £1m with businesses being warned that health and safety breaches could be more heavily fined in future.

Ciaran McCabe, partner at Moore Blatch solicitors said: “Both these well publicised fines are a timely reminder of the importance for business of adhering to health and safety regulations at all times. Not only can breaches be costly, but they can be hugely damaging to a business’s profile when winning new work or recruiting staff.

“This is most evident in the case of Alton Towers, whose operator Merlin Entertainments saw a significant drop in revenues following the accident, with Alton Towers reporting that visitor numbers remain some way below the 2014 level.”

In February 2016 a range of new sentencing guidelines for health and safety breaches came into force meaning companies could face fines of over £10m for the most serious breaches of health and safety legislation.