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Home> | Industry Update | >Company News | >Health and Safety Executive bares teeth with increased fines |
Health and Safety Executive bares teeth with increased fines
14 October 2016
The news that the production company behind the latest Star Wars film has been fined £1.6million is a reminder to businesses of how damaging health and safety breaches can be, warns Moore Blatch solicitors.
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.
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