The truth!

Whilst you should of course be open, truthful and co-operative, I have always been advised to check with the lawyers how open one can/should be. Much depends on the senario however some documentation or some things you reveal could be subject to legal privilege and can therefore be legally witheld. However having said that co-operation is the best approach.

A good morning to you too! I have had the dubious pleasure of being interviewed by the HSE under S9 on more than one occasion. If you look on the HSE's own site, they have a very detailed section on what is & what is not required, from their perspective. Seek legal advice before you are interviewed, but it must be from an independent solicitor, not the company's own as there could be a conflict of interest. Happy for us to discuss this as a PM rather than in an open forum. Zyggy

Morning Based on what I have been told by lawyers a Section 9 interview can be described a voluntary interview, where you are helping the authorities with the their enquiries. It is not aimed at finding out if you are personally liable for any wrong doing. According to the guidance from the HSE to it’s own inspectors section 9 interviews should not be used as evidence against an individual in court ( that is what an interview under PACE is for) BUT talking to the lawyers, the HSE have been allowed to use statements in court taken during a section 9 interview as evidence against an individual. So be careful. As it is a voluntary interview and it not primarily intended to catch the person being interviewed it is usefully not recorded apart from contemporaneous written notes. You are not usually allowed to bring a lawyer or friend along as again it’s not about you but about what happened. One thing that also needs to be clear before you are interviewed is whether you are being interviewed in a personal capacity or on behalf of the employer. You should also remember that this interview is voluntary and you do not have to answer any questions if you do not want to. If the interview is made under section Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 Section 20 (j) you are required (ie you must answer ) any questions as along as they do not incriminate yourself. If you are worried contact a lawyer to advise you. Most unions will arrange for this if you need it rather than relying on the company lawyer.

You're all being completely paranoid probably becuase you don't inderstand what context they are used in. If an inspector thinks a case may go to court (I stress MAY) then they will need to collect evidence. During the course of their investigations they will need to speak to witnesses or other key personnel about a variety of things' Rather than repeat these 'chats' they will just put it in a witness statement, just in case. The statement can be written by the 'witness' but is usually written by the inspector becuase it is easier that way. However, the inspector will be writing down what the witness says not what the inspector wants to say. The witness will then read the statement (or have it read back to them) and then sign to say that is a true reflection of what they have said. They can (and do) change anything the are not happy wiht before signing. The information absolutely cannot be used against them in a court because a person would have to be questioned under caution for that to happen. It is evidence in the case not evidence against that individual. In fact if during the interview the inspector thinks that the perosn may be incriminating themselves then the have to stop that interview and caution them. They really are nothing to worry about.

As a witness you are not (I believe) entitled to a copy of the statement (this is based on the one occasion when I was interviewed as a witness by the HSE some years ago). Once you have made a statement and the prosecution decide to use it in court, the defence are entitled to challenge that statement and bring you into court to cross-examine you on the statement you made (I have been lucky and have never had to do that). As I said this sort of statement is about the facts of the case and is not about getting you to confess to any wrong doing. There was an article about this in SHP a few years ago. Might be worth looking it up

Interesting topic Would you be allowed to also write down your responses during the interview (and questions) and / or actually record the interview for yourself ?

Building on what Claire has said, a witness statement cannot be used in evidence against an individual, unless they have been cautioned the evidence may be used... Furthermore, if during the course of a witness statement it is clear the person may incriminate themselves, then the statement must cease, the person cautioned and a new statement began. There is more recent legislation regarding witness statements pursuant to the Criminal Procedure Rules 2012 (Part 27) which is fresh off the press, which I am currently reviewing.

Claire, sorry, it's nothing to do with being paranoid, just past experience! During an investigation by the HSE I was warned that if I did not give a voluntary statement, then he would use S20 to compel me! This ended up with legal advice being taken & a complaint made to a Principal Inspector (nb I never actually refused to give a statement, but just wanted a copy which he was refusing to give despite contrary advice given by the HSE). I stand by my original posting, seek external legal advice before any such interviews. Zyggy

The truth can be phrased in many different ways and recorded in many further ways, and given quite different inflexions when read aloud, such as in court.

YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH!!!!

Zyggy Solicitors have methods of erecting chinese walls to prevent such claimed conflicts and they do work and are approved by the law society much to the chagrin of the HSE who have tried to claim this hoary old chestnut of conflict of interest and failed before the courts. It really is expensive to get a solicitor as good as that offered by most firms. Why not get the protocol sorted? Bob