James Bond Meets His Match with the HSE

In the world of health and safety I would be a liar if I said I didn’t routinely scan a) the jobs section (sorry RRC) and b) the prosecutions, just to see who is on Santa’s naughty list this year.

In all seriousness there is nothing like whipping a real case out of the bag to engage a member of staff, educate a manager, or scare the living daylights out of an errant director so I use them all of the time in training. But recently there was one that really stood out – James Bond was prosecuted for health and safety offences.  

“What on earth did he do” I hear you cry. Was it for one of the many crazy capers where Q was put at risk? Was it for careless use of a weaponized smoke grenade and ejector seat on a sports car? Firing machine guns from headlights in a public and highly populated Italian marketplace? The truth is even stranger!

In January the HSE prosecuted a builder who refused to give his name and called himself “James Bond” ‘James Bond’ builder who threatened HSE inspectors found guilty – HSE Media Centre. This case was interesting for me as a safety nerd as it was a prosecution for obstructing an inspector and these are few and far between, so I was immediately drawn in, but the more I read the more I was intrigued.  

Is this a NEBOSH scenario I see before me…

In a case that was rather reminiscent of a NEBOSH scenario based assessment, two passing HSE inspectors noticed builders standing in the bucket of an excavator to access a roof.  Rather than being thanked for potentially saving the lives of those involved they were met with a very ungentlemanly “James Bond” who refused to let them on site and threatened the inspectors with violence.  

If my NEBOSH students are now shouting “but they have right of access to the site at any reasonable time under the Health and Safety at Work Act” I will permit myself a little proud moment. Sadly, Mr Bond had no such training it would seem.

Shaken, but not stirred

“Shaken but not stirred”, the inspectors returned to the site accompanied by police officers as section 20 also allows. “007” still refused to give his name and now announced to the police on site with a greeting “it’s PC Plod” and I’m sure the good officers of Staffordshire Police found this utterly hilarious and laughed all the way to court!

Licence to Kill – revoked!

Oddly enough, “James Bond” wasn’t licensed to kill as far as the HSE was concerned. Once he was correctly identified as the site manager action was taken and he was charged with two counts of obstructing an inspector pursuant to section 33(h) of the health and safety at work etc. act 1974 (which I’m now going to refer to as “the act”).  

In a moment stranger than fiction, “Mr Bond” decided to go out in a blaze of glory and responded to notification of the charges with “several expletive laden emails” and the phrase “I won’t jump though your hoops”.

Refusing to even attend court he was found guilty and fined £3000, ordered to pay costs of £6,450 and a victim surcharge of £1200. This was under his real name, happily James Bond’s reputation remains intact.

Joking Aside – What can we learn from this?

This is a very unusual case and one that grabbed my attention as a tutor. I have spent over 25 years working initially in industry and then later as a trainer and consultant and I have never once considered being anything less than respectful to the HSE and other regulators. I deliver lots of training at many different levels and the basics of the powers of inspectors is a common topic.  

Powers of inspectors

Section 20 of The Health and Safety at Work Act contains the powers that the inspectors may need to exercise their duties and it provides that they can access the premises ‘at any reasonable time’ or ‘in a situation which in his opinion is or may be dangerous’. The inspector can ‘take a constable’ if they believe it is necessary or bring other specialists if needed. They can take samples, documents, measurements, take witness statements (voluntary or otherwise), require the area to be left undisturbed and, my personal favourite, they have ‘any other power which is necessary’.  

One of my old tutors was an ex HSE inspector and he said “don’t set the dogs on the inspectors, they will come back”, advice that ‘Mr Bond’ sadly missed. As he found, obstructing an inspector is also an offence under the act. Perhaps an IOSH Managing Safely course would have been a wise investment for someone in his position!  

It would be prudent for organisations to train not only the managers, but supervisors and security/reception staff on the internal procedures to be followed should an inspector call – saying “I’m sorry you don’t have an appointment you can’t come in” may not be viewed favourably. Equally, I recall early in my career a HUGE amount of excitement when the gatehouse called “the Boss” to place them on alert because “the council inspectors are in”. The Boss ran along the hall to me and we hustled to the gatehouse, welcoming smiles in place ready to greet what we assumed to be an Environmental Health Officer. Imagine my surprise when I was greeted by a lovely chap who was indeed from the council but was actually on site to cut the lawns – the inspectors may have access to your site and the right to bring equipment, but I would be amazed if this has ever included a ride on lawnmower for a spot of impromptu gardening.   

For further information on what to expect when visited by an inspector, follow the link to the HSE website When a health and safety inspector calls – HSE.  

If you want any help with IOSH Managing Safely courses for your supervisors and managers, or NEBOSH courses for those embarking on a career in Health and Safety contact RRC International. We definitely won’t reply with “expletive laden emails” but we do have a “licence to thrill” our delegates with in person, online, live online and in company courses tailored to your needs.