HSE: 50 years and counting
Posted on April 10, 2025
It’s 50 years this year that the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) was established. It was born out of the Health and Safety at Work Act etc 1974 and over the years has absorbed other regulatory bodies such as the Factory Inspectorate and the Railway Inspectorate (1990-2006).
It’s mission as a regulator five decades ago is the same today, namely, to prevent workplace death, injury or ill health.
The fundamental principle of health and safety law is that those who create risks are best placed to control them. HSE considers the impact on the economy, by ensuring any action it takes is proportionate, targeted, consistent, transparent and accountable.
HSE achieves the above using a variety of methods to influence change and help people manage risks at work, including:
- providing advice, information and guidance
- raising awareness in workplaces by influencing and engaging
- operating permissioning and licensing activities in major hazard industries
- carrying out targeted inspections and investigations
- taking enforcement action to prevent harm and hold those who break the law to account
Ever-evolving workplace
Of course, the health and safety landscape is ever evolving and over the last five decades there has been significant change to industry in the UK, with the dominance of manufacturing and other heavy industries dwindling in the face of the tech boom. Construction remains buoyant however with around 2.8 million workers, but despite the significant developments in the industry, it still accounts for the most workplace fatalities every year – 51 in the last year. This, if nothing else, underlines the HSE’s continuing importance.
In celebrating the HSE’s half century milestone, the government’s press release highlighted its belief that the HSE has helped “Great Britain [to] become one of the safest places in the world to work.” In 1974, 651 employees were killed at work; HSE’s latest annual statistics for 2023/24 show that number had reduced to 138. Just one is too many of course but imagine how much worse it might be without regulation.
The CEO of the HSE, Sarah Albon, has said that despite the transformation of our workplaces over the past half century, the mission of the regulator remains as relevant as ever: “We’re proud of our successes over the last five decades, but the fact remains that any work-related death is a tragedy, and there are still far too many workers suffering ill-health brought about by work activity.”
She added: “It is hard to foresee what the world of work will look like in the next 50 years but as ever, our fundamental principle will continue to be to make sure that those who create risk, take responsibility for controlling risk, and those who fail to do so will be held to account.
“We will continue to work with businesses, with industry, with other regulators and with government, to enable strong economic growth, while we continue to deliver our founding principles as we work to protect people and places.”
Force for good
The HSE and the HSAW Act are not perfect – what is? Repeatedly questions like these are asked: are the regulations too lax, allowing companies to cut corners and put their employees at risk? Or are regulations too stringent, burdening businesses with unnecessary red tape and hindering productivity?
My view is that HSE is a force for good, while the legislation they oversee is excellent. It’s long, but it’s simple because it’s goal setting rather than being prescriptive. At its heart is the fundamental principle that health and safety at work is a right, whatever the occupation, from construction worker to office secretary and it has also largely kept pace with the evolution of the workplace and prevailing attitudes.
So happy birthday on your half century, HSE, raise your (splinter-free) bat to the pavilion, take the applause and power on to your century – helping to keep us healthy and safe.