NAA Member News: Brabners – Navigating VLO sentencing: A proactive approach to health & safety protections
Management teams across the automotive industry are set to feel the impact of recent changes to safety fines for big businesses. Claire Burrows, partner in the regulatory and professional conduct team at purpose-led law firm Brabners, explains how a proactive approach to tackling new rules will put them on the front foot.
Regardless of job title, all workers in the UK benefit from a strong framework of health and safety regulations, namely the Health and Safety at Work Act. The piece of legislation has been so effective, the country has one of the lowest rates of workplace fatal incidents in Europe. That being said, injuries and illnesses at work are still responsible for an estimated £7bn yearly cost to the UK economy, which lost a staggering 33.7 million working days to work-related ill health and injuries last year.[1]
And certain sectors shoulder a heavier responsibility for this figure than others. Indeed, in its latest summary of statistics, Health and Safety England (HSE) estimated that automotive-related industries have statistically significantly higher workplace non-fatal injury rates compared to the national average.[2]
As such, recent changes implemented by the Sentencing Council regarding health and safety fines for Very Large Organisations (VLOs) signal an important shift for businesses operating in the automotive sphere – and with many of them continuing to navigate an uncertain operating environment, it is one that industry leaders cannot afford to ignore.
Unpacking the legislation
Since their introduction in 2016, health and safety sentencing guidelines have sought to bring structure to how fines are issued to companies that demonstrate health and safety breaches, with the size of the penalty determined by the offending business’ turnover.
However, ambiguity around what qualifies as a “very large organisation” (VLO) has historically left the door open to inconsistency.
Under the previous regime, a VLO was defined as an organisation with turnover that “greatly exceeds £50 million”. However, whether a company qualified was subject to judicial discretion, often with little transparency around how the final figure was reached. In practice, this meant that companies of similar size and circumstances could feasibly face vastly different penalties – an uncertainty that complicates risk planning for in-house legal and compliance teams.
The Sentencing Council’s latest proposals aim to resolve this. As of the 1st of June, courts are now required to pay closer attention to an organisation’s actual financial circumstances and the seriousness of the breach, rather than defaulting to a multiplier model based on turnover alone.
Defining the cost
This should be a welcome development for the automotive industry, with more than 100,000 businesses operating under its umbrella.[3] High turnover doesn’t always equate to high margins – especially as businesses continue to contend with pressures ranging from high input prices and supply chain uncertainty to the ongoing skills shortage. For many, a fine could have a huge impact on a business’ finances.
Real-world examples show just how significant these penalties can be. Earlier this year, even prior to the new guidelines coming into effect, a car dealership group was fined £160,000 after workers developed hand-arm vibration syndrome (HAVS) due to prolonged and unmonitored use of power tools over more than a decade. The court highlighted that the company failed to implement appropriate health surveillance or train staff on the risks – despite having high-level health and safety policies on paper.[4]
Similarly, in the automotive manufacturing sector, a worker sustained severe burns after an adhesive ignited during the production process of complex plastic components for cars. The employer was fined £200,000 and found to have failed to undertake a suitable risk assessment or implement appropriate control measures.[5]
These cases are proof that courts are willing to issue substantial penalties where proactive risk management is absent, regardless of whether harm could have been avoided through better systems, planning or oversight.
Changes in practise
VLO sentencing reform will mean that fines are no longer simply determined by scale, but context as well. While deterrence remains a key principle, the aim is proportionality, meaning that the law must differentiate between deliberate non-compliance and inadvertent error.
This matters because many large contractors already invest heavily in safety systems and personnel. Their breaches are rarely a result of negligence, but of human error or operational blind spots. When a business is doing the right things, such as training staff, auditing risks and embedding compliance into all levels of operations, it should not be overly penalised simply because of its size.
That being said, the bar for compliance will remain high. The new rules reinforce that sentencing applies to risk of harm, not just actual harm. Say 100 employees at a manufacturer are working on a dangerous supply line, a fine may still be severe even if no injury occurs. For management teams, this underscores the importance of identifying risks proactively.
Proactive protection
For many, the temptation can be to approach health and safety reactively and only seek legal input after a breach has occurred. However, the most effective strategies ensure that compliance is built in from the start. Seeking advice at the earliest opportunity can be an effective way to check the efficacy of your current health and safety frameworks and identify any red flags.
Compliance should also be seen as a continuous process, rather than a one-off investment – especially as the sector continues to evolve. Through our Brabners Protect consultancy platform, for example, we work alongside management teams to ensure that they have the tools, confidence and clarity they need to make informed decisions – especially in high-pressure, fast-moving project environments.
The publication of updated sentencing guidelines is a clear call to action. For VLOs, it offers an opportunity to reset expectations, reaffirm commitment to safety and build more resilient operating models.
For some, the temptation might be to wait to see the new enforcement measures in action before acting. However, the guidelines should reinforce the notion that understanding your risks and addressing them proactively is not just wise – it’s vital.
To find out more about how you can protect your business from health and safety risk, and benefit from a bespoke Brabners Protect package, get in touch with: Claire.Burrows@brabners.com
[1] https://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/assets/docs/hssh2324.pdf
[2] https://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/assets/docs/hssh2324.pdf
[3] https://tide.theimi.org.uk/sites/default/files/2024-10/Baseline%20Report%202024%20Summary.pdf
[4] https://www.hsmsearch.com/Car-dealership-fined-employees-HAVS
[5] https://press.hse.gov.uk/2025/02/14/manufacturing-firm-fined-after-worker-sustains-serious-burns/
