Health and Safety Inspectorate Annual Report 2024
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REPORT
In auditing Ministerial Decisions at the end of the electoral term, it became apparent that the Health and Safety Inspectorate Annual Report 2024 was not presented as an R to the States Assembly as it should have been in 2025. It was published at the correct time on the gov.je website, so has been in the public domain. The publication of this report is to correct this administrative oversight.
R.91/2026
Health and Safety Inspectorate
ANNUAL REPORT 2024
Our mission is the prevention of death, injury and ill-health to those at work and those directly affected by work activities Our strategic objectives are to: Secure compliance in a firm but fair and proportionate manner Ensure the regulatory framework remains effective and appropriate for Jersey Reduce the incidence and/or severity of work-related accidents and ill-health which give rise to the most serious risks Lead and engage with others to improve workplace health and safety Enable improvement through efficient and effective service delivery, seeking opportunities for integration and collaboration with our JHA partners | THE HEALTH & SAFETY INSPECTORATE WHO WE ARE We are a small team who at full complement comprise a Director, 4 Inspectors, a Health and Safety Regulatory Officer and a part-time health and safety advisor. We are the Island's sole independent regulator for workplace health and safety. Our primary function is to secure the health, safety and welfare of people at work and to protect others from risks arising from work activities by administering and enforcing the Health and Safety at Work (Jersey) Law 1989 (HSW Law). WHO WE REGULATE The HSW Law applies to ALL workplaces and work activities in Jersey. In December 2024 there were: 64,790 total jobs 8,440 active private sector undertakings: 9,880 public sector 89% employ fewer than 10 54,910 private sector 59% single person (incl. self-employed) Source: Jersey's Labour Market Report Labour Market December 2024 pdf (gov.je) GOVERNANCE The Health and Safety Inspectorate (HSI) sits within Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) with the Director reporting directly to the Chief Officer of JHA. To ensure transparency and independence of the HSI as the regulator for both the public and private sectors, the Director also has a reporting line to the Attorney General. Our mission and strategic objectives are aligned and support the wider JHA vision for Jersey to be a place to live, work and visit, where people are safe and feel safe, which is free from discrimination and where rights and differences are respected'. The Minister for Social Security holds political responsibility for occupational health and safety in the island, including the HSI. |
PRINCIPLES OF REGULATION
HSW Law places broad duties on everyone at work, for example employers, workers, the self- employed etc. Those with duties are known as dutyholders' and they have the legal responsibility to ensure the health and safety of employees and others who may be affected.
HSW Law establishes 2 enduring principles:
• Those that create the risks have the responsibility to manage & control them
• Action taken to control the risk should be proportionate to the risk that needs to be managed.
Some duties are absolute whilst others are subject to the qualification of so far as is reasonably practicable' which means balancing the level of risk against the measures needed to control it in terms of money, time or trouble. The Law is underpinned by more prescriptive regulations, Approved Codes of Practice (ACoPs), guidance as well as industry standards which inform what is considered to be reasonably practicable' for dutyholders to achieve to manage their risks and ensure compliance with the Law.
In placing duties on all parties at work HSW Law provides for a system of self-regulation with a framework for active risk management and mitigation that is proportionate to the risk. It encourages continuous review, improvement and innovation.
WHAT WE DO: the role of HSI
HSI's role is to regulate dutyholders to ensure they understand and effectively manage their health and safety risks to workers and others.
We are a small team, and it is impossible for us to inspect every one of the businesses in Jersey. We target our activities on those sectors and activities with the most serious risks or where the risks are least well-controlled.
We use a variety of methods to influence behavioural change and help people manage their risks at work. These include:
• providing advice, information and guidance carrying out targeted inspections and
• raising awareness in workplaces by investigations
influencing and engaging taking enforcement action to prevent harm
• operating licensing activities for higher-risk and hold those who break the law to
work account
All our interventions are made in accordance with the principles of good regulation as outlined in our Enforcement policy statement: health and safety at work
Further information is available at:
Health and Safety Inspectorate: who we are and what we do
Understanding responsibilities under Health and Safety at Work (Jersey) Law, 1989 Health and Safety Inspectorate (HSI) proactive inspection and investigations
2024: Ensuring efficient & effective service delivery | ||
£671,808 total budget | £605,808 staff costs £11,000 Grant to Jersey Safety Council £55,000 residual non-staff costs | £717,234 total expenditure (including additional major incident investigation funding) |
Staffing In 2024 HSI started the year fully staffed with 6.4 Full Time Equivalents (FTE) comprising a Director, 4 Inspectors, a Regulatory Officer and a part-time administrator. Due to the resignation of one of the Inspectors in November we will start 2025 with a 25% Inspector vacancy rate. | ||
Major incident investigations HSI has continued to take a major role in investigating recent major incidents. • We took primacy for the investigation into the explosion at Mont Pinel in June 2024; and • we continued with our investigations into the circumstances surrounding the tragic explosion at Pier Road in December 2022 (which is running in parallel to the States of Jersey Police's investigation) | ||
Responding to health & safety concerns and complaints Alongside our high volume of reactive investigation work in 2024 we responded to all complaints from employees and the public about work activities in accordance with policy. | ||
Proactive inspections and stakeholder engagement With greater resources we increased our proactive work in 2024 with inspections of a variety of higher risk work activities, telephone advice, reviewing asbestos plans of work and providing advice on event safety with the Bailiff 's Panel. We presented at conferences run by the Energy Network Association Health, Safety & Environment and the Jersey Construction Council. We also held a range of stakeholder engagement workshops where our engagement builds shared objectives and extends our reach to ensure better risk management across a range of business sectors. | ||
Clarifying roles & responsibilities under HSW Law Building on our primacy of recent major incident investigations we used stakeholder meetings, presentations and web articles to explain the criminal offences under HSW Law and our role as a regulator. The aim is to assist all those we interact with to better understand our role and that it is dutyholders in law that are responsible – at all times - for managing the risks their work activities present to both employees and the public. We also continue to highlight the importance of incorporating established industry standards as well as HSI and HSE ACoPs in systems of risk management as they all provide comprehensive guidance on what is reasonably practicable' for dutyholders to do to manage both safety and health risks. | ||
Regulating and enforcing HSW Law | |
In 2024 we carried out 3 major incident investigations 51 investigations into serious workplace accidents and ill health conditions across a wide cross section of industry sectors | We responded to 140 complaints about workplaces and working activities: 43 Category 1 (serious risk) 72 Category 2 (significant risk) 25 Category 3 (low risk) |
HSW Law puts duties on employers, employees, the self employed and others to manage the risks to health & safety of workers and the public. HSW Law is criminal law and a failure to discharge the duties under the Law is a criminal offence. The Law provides Inspectors with significant powers including the ability to serve legal enforcement notices to either require improvements in risk management or to prohibit work activities that give rise to a risk of serious injury. | |
In 2024 we served 36 Enforcement notices 12 Prohibition notices • 11 related to unsafe work at height • 1 for a failure to provide a safe system of work for lifting during tree work 24 Improvement Notices • 7 to provide health surveillance to 1 to face fit respiratory protective employees equipment • 2 to control exposure to flour and 1 to carry out thorough examination test bread improver dust on Local Exhaust Ventilation (LEV) • 2 to control exposure to stone and 1 to control exposure to asbestos fibre brick dust and wood dust • 2 to control exposure to wood dust 1 to have a safe work method statement • 2 to control risk to prevent persons for tree work and objects falling a distance liable to 1 to conduct a vibration risk assessment cause injury 1 to store highly flammable liquids safely • 2 to prepare a safe work method 1 to provide information, instruction & statement for work at height training | |
Health & Safety Law prosecutions The decision to prosecute the most serious of breaches of HSW Law rests with the Attorney General, not HSI. The Attorney General must be satisfied that there is sufficient evidence, and that prosecution is in the public interest. There are published guidelines setting out the circumstances of when a breach should be referred to the Attorney General for his consideration, the principles of which are set out in our Enforcement policy statement: health and safety at work | |
There were 3 Health & Safety Law prosecutions in the Royal Court in 2024. Skinner Skips Ltd as an employer was found guilty of a breach of Article 3(1) HSW Law for the failure to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health & safety of its employees. They were fined £55,000 with £5000 costs. For more information see the judgment at AG v Skinner Skips Limited 22-Mar-2024 John Sutherland and Thomas Le Sauteur were both charged as employees and were both found guilty of a breach of Article 4(a) HSW Law. They were each given a two-year conditional discharge with costs awarded of £500. For more information see the judgement at AG v Sutherland and Le Sauteur 16-Jul-2024. The defendants sought leave to appeal which was dismissed - see Le Sauteur and Sutherland v HM Attorney General 23-Oct-2024 | |
We processed 82 plans of work relating to licensed asbestos removal work. See Licensed asbestos removal contractors for an up to date list of authorised contractors | We reviewed 66 defect reports which were received relating to a range of equipment (FLTs, passenger & goods lifts, pressure vessels, lifting gear) to ensure appropriate action taken. |
We received 445 construction notifications under the Construction (Jersey) Regulations 2016. All major construction projects which last more than 30 days or involve more than 500 person days must be notified to HSI by the Health & Safety Project Coodinator (HSPC). | |
Ensuring the legislation remains effective & appropriate for Jersey |
Approved Codes of Practice (ACoPs) provide practical guidance to help dutyholders understand what they need to do to comply with the law. They hold a special legal status in that, although following the guidance in the ACoP is not compulsory, by doing so a duty holder would be doing enough to comply with the law. In addition to HSE's ACoPs HSI also issue/update Jersey specific ACoPs to reflect changes to relevant UK legislation and/ or relevant European Standards, thereby maintaining the high standards of health and safety in local workplaces our workforce deserves. In 2024 the Display Screen Equipment at Work ACoP was updated from the 1998 version to better reflect current technology and our more modern ways of working. It will come into force in early 2025. |
In 2024 we introduced a means of voluntarily reporting workplace incidents, injuries and dangerous occurrences online. Many responsible dutyholders already report incidents to HSI. The online form will standardise reporting, allowing us to better analyse the data from work-related incidents. Reporting workplace incidents and accidents (RIDDOR) The data will provide an additional information source that we can use in due course alongside the statistical data on work-related accidents and ill-health collated through Social Security Short-Term Incapacity Allowance (STIA) presented in this report. This will assist us in monitoring trends, identifying where it might be helpful for the regulator to provide new guidance or ACoPs or propose changes to legislation in our aim to reduce the incidence of work-related accidents and ill- health. |
Find out more about HSI at: |
Leading & engaging with others to improve workplace safety |
We carried out 155 unannounced inspections of work activities across a range of industry sectors |
We provide advice, guidance & legal interpretation to help dutyholders understand what they need to do to manage their risks in a sensible and proportionate manner. We dealt with c. 1,350 telephone enquiries, provided over 3,200 written responses by email or letter and held over 830 face-to-face meetings to discuss health and safety at work matters |
HSI undertakes specific, targeted initiatives of workplaces or working activities to effectively enable standards to be set and acknowledged, promote good behaviours and deliver improved health and safety outcomes. Two scaffolding initiatives A warehouse initiative continued from 2023
• following installation/before first use height, unacceptable storage arrangements, • at an interval of no more than every 7 risks of slips and trips, risks of moving or falling days thereafter objects and the use of forklift trucks available • following any circumstances liable to for use by untrained/unauthorised persons etc. jeopardise the safety of the installation e.g. high winds. A hospitality initiative providing advice to the sector on maintenance of electrical and gas
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HSI work in partnership with a range of stakeholders including: Jersey Safety Council, which is funded by HSI to Bailiff s Entertainment Panel which reviews and promote occupational health and safety and advises the Bailiff on arrangements for public facilitate training which would otherwise not be safety at public entertainment events. readily available locally. Jersey Construction Council a representative GB's Health & Safety Executive for access to body of the construction industry with the HSI specialist advice, technical support & legal Director sitting on the H&S subcommittee. training. States of Jersey Police and government Guernsey HSE & Isle of Man HSE on shared departments, including States of Jersey Fire & interests Rescue Service, Environmental Health, Building Control, Planning, and Operations & Transport |
The HSI website www.gov.je/hsi is a well-established focal point for those seeking advice and guidance on health and safety matters, including the work of the Inspectorate.
HSI publishes tailored guidance on the update pages of our website to provide advice, clarification or feedback on areas of identified concern. This published advice is promulgated by a range of stakeholders.
Examples for 2024 include:
• The role of HSI, and our proactive inspection and investigations
• Work at height advice on scaffold inspections & training/competence
• The requirements for effective risk assessment
• Unsafe roof cleaning activities
• Stress in the workplace
• Asbestos awareness
• Electrical equipment and gas appliances in hospitality
• Health surveillance: what you need to know
• Working with ionising radiation
• Reporting of incidents, diseases and dangerous occurrences
• The importance of locating underground services during construction work
• Protecting lone workers
• Summaries of enforcement notices issued
Reducing the incidence of work-related accidents & ill health | |
Statistical data There were 64,790 total jobs in December 2024. This was an annual increase of 0.8% since December 2023. The public sector grew by 4.6% and the private sector by 0.2% Over the last 5 years (from December 2019 to December 2024) • There was an increase of 3,410 all sector jobs (up 5.6%) from December 2019. The total number of private sector jobs increased over five years by 1,650 (up 3.1%). Public sector jobs increased by 1,750 over five years (up 21.5%) Source – Labour Market December 2024 pdf (gov.je) | |
Collation of work-related accident and ill health data | |
In Jersey, reported statistical data on work related accidents and ill health is collated through individual claims made for social security benefit (Short term incapacity allowance, STIA). Every claimant submitting a medical certificate for STIA which indicates that their absence is work related is automatically sent a questionnaire asking for further details to be provided. Payments if you're off work sick (Short Term Incapacity Allowance) (gov.je). The data has its limitations, for example, medical certificates are only issued for 2 or more days off work; not all claimants return their form (only 42% did in 2024); and injuries caused to members of the public are not captured. However, as the data has been consistently collected it provides valuable information that enables trend monitoring. | |
1379 claims STIA claims submitted due to work related accident or ill health in 2024 | 23.7 STIAs per 1,000 FTE (accident & ill health combined) |
Accident & ill-health claims trends against employment rates
Sectoral statistics |
At a sectoral level the construction sector remains the industry where you are most likely to have an accident or suffer work related ill health in Jersey. It has 19% of all STIA claims despite only making up 10% of Jersey's workforce in 2024. |
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Work-related accident & injury statistics |
55% of claimants returned their questionnaire following a work-related accident. The main causes of accidents and injuries in 2024 remain consistent with recent years. |
Accident by injury in 2024 and over the last 3 years
Work-related Ill health statistics
36% of claimants retuned their questionnaire following a work-related ill health disorder. The trends remain consistent with previous years.
HSE produces detailed statistics on the cost to the economy of work-related ill-health & injury every year. The report for 2024 is available at: Health and safety statistics 2024 We can follow the cost of STIA claims to give an indication of the state costs for work-related ill- health and injury in Jersey each year. However, this ignores the human costs' (the impact on the individual's quality of life and, for fatal injuries, loss of life) and the serious effects on these individuals and their families, as well as employers, government and wider society; and the associated financial' costs, such as loss of production and healthcare costs etc. As HSE's cost estimations include both the human and wider financial costs they are used across the world as an indicator of the true costs of workplace fatalities, injuries and ill-health. | |||||||||
Cost to State of days lost due to accident or ill health in 2024 (as of 07/04/2025 based on 1417 STIA records of which 1379 received benefits) | |||||||||
Date Range | Days Lost | Cost per day | Totals | ||||||
1 January – 30th September | 36,212 | £37.99 | £1,375,693.88 | ||||||
1 October – 31 December | 9,645 | £40.43 | £389,947.35 | ||||||
| TOTAL | 45,857 |
| £1,765,641.23 |
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