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Health and Safety Law
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Health and Safety Law
The general duties and criminal offences of health and safety are contained within the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act (HSWA) 1974, sections 2-7.
These general duties are supplemented by a vast range of further health and safety Regulations created by subordinate legislation to the 1974 Act but also the further offences described in s.33(1)(b)-(o).
Beneath the Regulations are approved codes of practice (ACOP). Breaches of an applicable ACOP is evidence of a failure to comply with the requirements of applicable Regulations and/or the 1974 Act.
Detailed knowledge and understanding of the various duties and criminal offences created by health and safety legislation is essential to every business operating in England and Wales. Business organisations must be aware of their duties and the liabilities that may follow a breach of applicable duty.
Many offences are of strict liability in nature and the sentencing guidelines for health and safety offences are severe. The sentencing guidelines are designed to have real economic impact on any defendant and focus their highly prescriptive approach on business turnover, culpability and the risk of harm in placing the case in a category range before fixing the level of fine. Further, individuals can be subject to sentences of imprisonment whether as employers or self-employed persons.
The sentencing guidelines must be considered by any court dealing with a health and safety offence and apply to all organisations or offenders sentenced after 1st February 2016 regardless of the date of offence.
The severity of the sentencing guidelines has brought a new emphasis for many corporates seeking earlier involvement of counsel to avoid prosecution before any relevant incident occurs and then to navigate the most successful path through any HSE investigation and subsequent criminal proceedings.

Barristers
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KCs
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Joint Head of Chambers
Sam Green KC
Call: 1998
Silk: 2015
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Nigel Sangster KC
Call: 1976
Silk: 1998
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Richard Barraclough KC
Call: 1980
Silk: 2003
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Simon Myerson KC
Call: 1986
Silk: 2003
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Bryan Cox KC
Call: 1979
Silk: 2005
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Associate Tenant
Jane Bewsey KC
Call: 1986
Silk: 2010
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Simon Bickler KC
Call: 1988
Silk: 2011
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John Harrison KC
Call: 1994
Silk: 2016
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Jonathan Sandiford KC
Call: 1992
Silk: 2020
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Associate Tenant
Cameron Brown KC
Call: 1998
Silk: 2020
There are no KCs suiting filter condition
Members
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Joint Head of Chambers
Denise Breen-Lawton
Call: 2000
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Jeremy Barnett
Call: 1980
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Philip Standfast
Call: 1980
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Nikki Saxton
Call: 1992
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Robert Smith
Call: 1995
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Derek Duffy
Call: 1997
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Nicholas Worsley
Call: 1998
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Alasdair Campbell
Call: 1999
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Andrew Stranex
Call: 2000
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Jane Brady
Call: 2001
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James Bourne-Arton
Call: 2001
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Danielle Graham
Call: 2003
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Hal Watson
Call: 2003
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James Lake
Call: 2005
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Andrew Nixon
Call: 2006
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Helen Chapman
Call: 2006
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Voldi Welch
Call: 2008
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Hannah Hinton
Call: 2008
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Angus MacDonald
Call: 2009
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Sophie Mitchell
Call: 2010
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Hannah Lynch
Call: 2011
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Stephen Flint
Call: 2012
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George Hazel-Owram
Call: 2012
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Kristina Goodwin
Call: 2013
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Stephen Elphick
Call: 2014
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Charlie Greenwood
Call: 2015
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Frances Pencheon
Call: 2015
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Jessica Heggie
Call: 2017
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Harry Crowson
Call: 2018
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Temitayo Dasaolu
Call: 2018
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Ayman Khokhar
Call: 2018
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Emma Handley
Call: 2019
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Matthew Moore-Taylor
Call: 2020
There are no Members suiting filter condition
Health and Safety Legal Advice at St Pauls Chambers
Health and safety law is one of St Pauls Chambers’ key strengths. The highly experienced health and safety barristers at St Pauls Chambers provide a full range of legal advice for criminal health and safety laws, ranging from advising corporations on compliant business practice, investigatory and pre-charge advice, and advocacy services from the Magistrates Court through to the Crown Court, High Court and Court of Appeal.