Six Pump Court
2 Contributions by Six Pump Court Experts
PRACTICE NOTES
Practitioners need to be mindful of the procedural steps when contesting sentences in health and safety prosecutions, whether before the Crown Court or the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division). The Court of Appeal has reviewed a range of health and safety sentences and has provided guidance to practitioners on several points, notably the correct approach to sentencing very large companies, public organisations, companies with small operating profits, and the treatment of prosecution costs incurred.
Appeal from the magistrates’ court to the Crown Court
Section 108 of the Magistrates Courts Act 1980 (MCA 1980) grants a defendant the right to appeal against conviction, against sentence, or against both the conviction and the sentence imposed by the magistrates’ court. The process for lodging an appeal is set out in the Criminal Procedure Rules 2025 (CrimPR 2025), SI 2025/909, Part 34. See Practice Notes: Appealing a
Corporate Crime
PRACTICE NOTES
The Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 (HSWA 1974)
HSWA 1974 applies to employers and to those who are self‑employed. The Sentencing Council (SC) issues guidance for courts in England and Wales, setting out offence‑specific sentencing guidelines for use in the magistrates’ court and the Crown Court which, under section 59 of the Sentencing Act 2020 (SA 2020), must be followed when sentencing organisations for health and safety offences unless doing so would be contrary to the interests of justice.
These sentencing guidelines do not extend to Scotland or Northern Ireland, although courts there may have regard to them to assist their sentencing function.
For information on sentencing these offences in Scotland, see Practice Note: Sentencing health and safety cases in Scotland.
The SC has issued offence‑specific guidelines for courts sentencing organisations for breaches of HSWA 1974 and for
Corporate Crime
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