Fee for Intervention is how HSE recovers its costs from people it finds in material breach of health and safety law. If an inspector forms the opinion that you have broken the law seriously enough to tell you in writing, you pay for HSE's time from then on, at £188 an hour (HSE's rate from 1 April 2026). It is not a fine. It is an invoice for the work your breach caused.
Almost nobody budgets for it, because the visit itself costs nothing.
What triggers it
HSE's guidance on the scheme (HSE47) says a fee is payable when:
a person is or has been contravening health and safety law;
an inspector is of the opinion that they are, or have been; and
the inspector tells them so in writing.
That written opinion is called a Notification of Contravention. It is sent only when the inspector judges the contravention to be a material breach: one serious enough to need notification in writing, assessed using HSE's Enforcement Policy Statement and Enforcement Management Model. It may come on its own, or with an improvement or prohibition notice.
A material breach does not need an accident, a prosecution or a notice. It is the inspector's written opinion that the law is being broken. That threshold is lower than many duty holders assume.
What it covers
The fee covers HSE's time spent identifying the material breach and working with you to put it right. That can include:
the site visit, including the whole visit if the breach is found once the inspector is there;
investigation, interviews, statements and gathering evidence;
specialist help, writing reports and reviewing the investigation;
follow-up visits, calls and emails to check the breach has been put right.
The clock does not stop when the inspector leaves site. Costs are recovered until the intervention is concluded, or until a prosecution begins.
Where it does not apply
Where the enforcing authority is not HSE, for example where a local authority enforces. Which regulator covers your premises depends on the activity, not the address.
To employees acting as employees, or to self-employed people who put only themselves at risk.
To prosecutions, once proceedings have started.
To an employment tribunal appeal against an improvement or prohibition notice.
Querying or disputing an invoice
Query first. Contact HSE's FFI team as soon as possible, and no later than 21 days after the invoice date. Queries about the inspector's opinion go to the inspector's manager, who decides within 21 days. A query costs nothing.
Then dispute, if needed. If you are not satisfied, you can dispute all or part of the invoice within 21 days of HSE's response. The part not in dispute still has to be paid on time.
The panel. Disputes are heard by a panel independent of HSE: a lawyer as chair and two members with practical health and safety experience. HSE must give you the evidence and reasoning behind the material breach at least 21 days before the hearing.
You cannot dispute the principle of cost recovery or the hourly rate. HSE has no discretion over either.
The cost that matters
The invoice is rarely the largest cost. A Notification of Contravention is a written regulatory opinion that your arrangements fell short, and it stays on file. The organisations that never receive one are usually the ones that can show what they did before the inspector arrived.
Common questions
Is Fee for Intervention a fine?
No. It recovers HSE's costs. Fines are imposed by a court after a conviction.
Do I pay if the inspector finds nothing wrong?
No. Those complying with the law do not pay.
Does the hourly rate change?
It can. HSE reviews its charges, so check HSE's current rates.
Related: the notice that stopped the job, criminal liability and the penalties clients ignore and how fast can you show your CDM evidence?
This article is general information, not legal advice.