Improvement notices
An HSE or local authority inspector can require you to put failings right within a set time. Ignoring one is itself an offence.
Guide
LOLER fines and enforcement: what non-compliance actually costs
Skipping a thorough examination doesn't save money; it defers a much larger bill. Here's how enforcement actually works, from an inspector's first notice through to prosecution.
LOLER 1998 makes thorough examination of lifting equipment a statutory duty, enforced by the Health and Safety Executive and local authorities. Enforcement escalates through four stages, and every stage costs more than the examination that would have avoided it.
The escalation ladder
Four stages of enforcement
Prohibition notices
Where there is a risk of serious personal injury, an inspector can stop the activity, or the equipment, immediately, until the risk is dealt with. For a business that runs on its forklifts or cranes, this is an instant operational shutdown.
Fee for Intervention (FFI)
When HSE finds a material breach, it recovers the cost of its own investigation time from the duty holder at an hourly rate: you pay for being investigated, before any fine.
Prosecution
Serious breaches are prosecuted. Since the 2016 sentencing guidelines, fines are scaled to the offending organisation’s turnover and the level of harm risked. For larger companies they routinely reach six and seven figures, and individuals can face imprisonment.
The fix is simple
Staying on the right side of it
Compliance is a schedule, not a project: know your asset list, know which items are on the 6-month cycle and which are on the 12-month cycle, and have a competent person examine them on time. We handle that schedule for our clients: examinations booked before they're due, certificates in the portal, reminders before the next one.
Common questions
Enforcement FAQs
Is missing a LOLER examination actually an offence?
Yes. Thorough examination at statutory intervals is a legal duty under LOLER 1998. Operating lifting equipment without a current Report of Thorough Examination exposes the duty holder to enforcement action, and the equipment can be prohibited from use.
How big can fines get?
Health and safety fines are unlimited. Under the sentencing guidelines courts set fines by reference to the organisation’s turnover, culpability and the harm risked, not just harm caused, so a serious breach with no injury can still attract a substantial fine.
Can insurance refuse to pay out?
Failing to meet statutory inspection requirements can affect insurance validity: insurers expect statutory examinations to be current, and a lapsed certificate is an avoidable argument you don’t want after an incident.
Who is liable: the company or individuals?
Both can be. Duties sit with the employer or whoever controls the equipment, and individual directors and managers can be prosecuted where offences are committed with their consent, connivance or neglect.
Not sure if your certificates are current?
Send us your asset list and we'll tell you exactly where you stand: what's due, what's overdue, and how to get compliant fast.