Weekly Compliance Update: The High Cost of 'Second Chances' and False Assurance

Hi, I’m Mark. I’m writing this from my desk at Livius Training in Boroughbridge, looking out at a surprisingly quiet North Yorkshire morning. But while it might be quiet here, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has been anything but. I’ve been training teams across Yorkshire and the wider UK since 2009, and if there is one thing I’ve learned, it’s that the regulator has a very long memory. This week’s update is a bit of a wake-up call for anyone who thinks a 'slap on the wrist' is the end of the matter.

The News: A £100,000 Lesson in Machinery Guarding

The standout news from the last fortnight happened on 12 August 2026. A packaging manufacturer was handed a £100,000 fine after a worker’s hand was crushed in a laminating machine. Now, accidents happen, but here is the kicker: this was the company’s second major fine in less than a year. When the HSE sees a repeat offense, the kid gloves come off. The investigation found they had failed to prevent access to dangerous parts of the machinery—a fundamental breach of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER).

I see this all the time during site visits. A guard is removed for 'maintenance' or 'speed,' and it never quite finds its way back. If you are running machinery, you need to ask yourself today: when was the last time we actually checked the physical integrity of our guards, rather than just ticking a box on a sheet?

The 'False Assurance' Trap: A Landmark Enforcement

There is another development that hasn’t made the front pages but is arguably more important for business owners. The HSE recently issued its first-ever Prohibition Notice against an occupational health service provider. This is a massive shift. For years, employers have outsourced their health surveillance—things like lung function tests or hearing checks required under COSHH or the Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005—and assumed that because they paid a professional, they were compliant.

“When health surveillance is carried out poorly, employers are given false assurance, and workers are left unknowingly at risk.” — Julie Wood, HSE Occupational Health Inspector.

The HSE is now targeting the quality of the advice you receive. If your provider isn’t competent, the HSE will hold you responsible for the gap in protection. It’s not enough to just have a contract; you need to ensure they have robust clinical governance in place. We’ve always championed this at Livius—accredited training isn’t just a badge; it’s about genuine competence.

Mental Health and the 2026 Landscape

As we move through August, we are also seeing the regulator double down on the Working Minds campaign. The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 requires you to assess all risks, and that includes psychosocial ones like stress and burnout. With nearly a million workers reporting work-related stress in the last year, the HSE has made it clear: if you aren’t assessing mental health risks, you aren’t compliant. It’s no longer a 'nice to have' HR initiative; it’s a core safety requirement.

What you should do this week

I don’t like giving advice without actions. Here are three things you can do before Friday to keep your team safe and the inspectors happy:

• → Walk the Floor: Physically check every piece of moving machinery. If a guard is missing, loose, or bypassed, stop the machine immediately. Don’t wait for the next scheduled audit.
• → Audit Your Providers: Call your occupational health provider. Ask for evidence of their clinical governance and ensure the person conducting your health surveillance is actually qualified to do so. Don’t accept 'false assurance.'
• → Update Your Risk Assessments: Ensure your risk assessments specifically mention work-related stress and mental wellbeing, especially for your lone workers or those in high-pressure roles.

Staying compliant doesn’t have to be a headache, but it does require you to be proactive. At Livius Training, we’ve been helping businesses across Yorkshire and the UK navigate these changes for over 15 years. Whether it’s First Aid, IOSH Managing Safely, or bespoke health and safety consultancy, we make sure your people are trained by experts who actually care about the outcome, not just the certificate.

If you’re worried about your current compliance levels or just want a straight-talking chat about what these new HSE focuses mean for your specific industry, give us a shout. We’re here to help you get it right the first time.

Stay safe out there,

Mark
Livius Training