Someone I know working for a company, was spotted by the HSE and was given a prohibition notice for not wearing his safety harness correctly. Work was stopped etc. We're yet to receive the paperwork for it, but will the prohibition notice be raised against the individual or the employer? Obviously the MD of the company is seething and worried it will go against him when completing tenders etc when they ask for "information on notices" etc. Also, I'm right in thinking if they were to appeal (pointless in my eyes, but hey ho), the notice stays in place. Whereas if it was an improvement notice and we appealed, it could be lifted while the appeal took place? Any help would be appreciated. ta

Section 24 of the Health and Safety at Work Act sets out the appeal procedures for notices. You are right regarding the Prohibition Notice (PN) staying in place until the appeal can be heard by a tribunal. It is up to the Inspector whether the Notice is issued against the individual employee or the employer. Normally it would be issued against the employer, because the "offence" could be carried out by any of their other employees. PH2

Eyesee http://www.hse.gov.uk/en...otices/notices-types.htm Extract from the above link 17. A prohibition notice may be served on any person in control of a process or a piece of plant subject to the relevant statutory provisions. This includes an employee who may not be aware that the activity is unsafe and is acting in accordance with his/her employer’s instructions. In such circumstances, the employer should be contacted to advise them of the situation and the proposed notice. The inspector may consider serving a notice on both employer and employee. The devil will be in the detail; the Prohibition Notice will detail whether it’s against the person in control of the process/equipment or the company itself (IMHO it will be the latter). As you have stated an appeal can take place; but Notice would stay in place; and as canoper has mentioned Fee For Intervention may well also be forthcoming.

EyeSee. The notice could have been served against either employer or the employee. When you say you haven't seen the paperwork, do you mean follow up typed copy? Hand written notice should have been given out at the time.

Your appeal will only be successful if you can prove that the inspector's opinion was wrong and that the safety harness was correctly worn, or, at least, that the safety harness as worn would have prevented "serious personal injury" if realised. Otherwise, your appeal is futile. Once the harness is "correctly worn" the PN no longer applies. Its purpose is to stop the dangerous activity as observed by the Inspector. However, the Inspector may also be considering a requirement for refresher training to ensure the harness is correctly worn in future.

Should be hand written