What happens if my company fails a hazardous substances inspection?

If your company fails an inspection, the HSE or auditor will outline exactly what needs fixing. This can include poor COSHH assessments, lack of monitoring, missing LEV tests, or control measures that aren’t effective.

You may receive an Improvement Notice, which gives you a deadline to correct the issues. In more serious cases, a Prohibition Notice may stop certain work immediately. The business may also be charged “fee for intervention” costs for the time the inspector spends dealing with the non-compliance.

The key thing is that failing an inspection isn’t the end of the world. It just means you need to take action quickly and show evidence of improvement.