The Health and Safety Offences Act 2008 came into force in January 2009. Amending Section 33 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, it raises the maximum penalties which can be imposed by lower courts on those who breach health and safety legislation from £5,000 to £20,000.
The Act also increases the range of offences for which an individual may be imprisoned in both the lower and higher courts, and makes certain offences, which are currently only triable in the lower courts, triable in both lower and higher courts.
