The Sentencing Council (SC) produces guidance on sentencing for courts in England and Wales in the form of offence-specific sentencing guidelines for use in the magistrates’ court and the Crown Court which, pursuant to section 59 of the Sentencing Act 2020 (SA 2020) (also referred to as the Sentencing Code), courts in England and Wales must follow when sentencing individuals for health and safety offences unless it would be contrary to the interests of justice to do so. These sentencing guidelines do not extend to Scotland or Northern Ireland although the sentencing courts in these jurisdictions may have reference to them to assist them in their sentencing role. See Practice Note: Sentencing health and safety cases in Scotland.

The SC has published offence-specific guidelines for courts sentencing individuals for breaches of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 (HSWA 1974) and for breaches of health and safety regulations.

HSWA 1974 and Health & Safety Regulations as defined by the HSWA 1974, Sch 1, apply to individuals who are employers (under HSWA 1974, s