By Magdalena Dootson & Stefan Desbordes
|
Published 17 September 2026
At its annual general meeting on 28 July 2026, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) delivered a clear message to employers: preventing work-related ill health remains a key regulatory priority, and organisations should expect continued scrutiny of how they manage health-related workplace risks.
The update provided a valuable insight into the areas likely to attract increased enforcement activity over the coming year and highlights the growing importance of occupational health as a core compliance obligation.
The statistics
The scale of the HSE's enforcement activity during 2025/26 demonstrates the regulator's ongoing commitment to workplace health and safety. The figures serve as a reminder that the regulator continues to take a robust approach where employers fail to meet their legal obligations.
Some performance highlights include:
- More than 14,900 proactive inspections focused on work-related health
- 28,500 concerns received from members of the public
- Issued over 4,800 enforcement notices, including nearly 1,200 prohibition notices requiring work activities to stop immediately where there is a risk of serious injury
- Over 250 prosecutions for health and safety offences of which 88% were successful
- £34.5 million in fines
Key areas of focus
The HSE also reinforced its commitment to tackling occupational ill health across a range of sectors.
Current intervention programmes continue to focus on:
- Respiratory risks, including exposure to silica dust and flour dust
- Hand-arm vibration
- Workplace stress and mental health
- Musculoskeletal disorders
Many of these risks develop over time and may not be as visible as traditional workplace safety hazards. However, they remain a significant source of enforcement activity and regulatory attention.
What this means for businesses
For employers, the message remains that health and safety compliance is about far more than preventing accidents.
Regulators are increasingly scrutinising whether organisations have appropriate systems in place to identify, assess, monitor and control occupational health risks before they result in illness or injury.
Businesses should ensure that they have:
- Robust and up-to-date risk assessments
- Documented workplace controls
- Effective training and supervision
- Suitable monitoring arrangements
- Appropriate health surveillance programmes
Failing to address these issues can result in enforcement notices being issued, prosecutions arising from breaches of health and safety legislation and substantial financial penalties.
Looking ahead
The HSE offered an indication of future regulatory priorities. Employers should monitor developments relating to workplace temperatures, artificial intelligence, robotics, engineered stone, chemical regulation and other emerging workplace risks.
As technology and working practices continue to evolve, organisations need to review their policies, procedures and risk assessments to ensure they remain compliant with changing expectations.
Conclusions
The HSE's message is clear. Effective management of occupational health risks is firmly established as a central part of health and safety compliance.
For businesses, the key question is not whether occupational health should be a priority, but whether their current arrangements would withstand regulatory scrutiny if an inspector walked through the door today.
How we can help …
Our national Safety, Health and Environment Team advises organisations across a diverse range of sectors on compliance with their statutory health and safety, product safety and environmental obligations, and help them to manage their response to major incidents, and to protect their interests, particularly when faced with the threat of investigation or prosecution by the regulatory authorities. We also offer a wide range of training sessions and workshops. Please don't hesitate to contact us to discuss our services further.
