Quick answer
Fee for Intervention is HSE’s cost-recovery scheme for relevant work arising from a material breach of applicable health-and-safety law. Check the written breach notification and invoice, verify the current rate and use the official query or dispute route if necessary.
Why the material-breach decision matters
FFI does not mean every regulatory visit generates the same charge. HSE’s explanation of Fee for Intervention links the scheme to a material breach: an inspector considers the breach serious enough to write formally requiring action.
The written notification identifies what is wrong, why it is a breach and that a fee is payable. Check that document alongside the invoice. This guide concerns the HSE scheme; local-authority enforcement or a NI workplace should not be assumed to use identical charging arrangements.
Check the work being charged and the current rate
Relevant recoverable work can include the original visit and associated office work, specialist input, investigation or follow-up. Do not assume charging begins only after the written notification. HSE sets out the work covered by FFI.
Use the current HSE fees and charges table for the hourly rate applicable to the work. A rate copied from an old article may be out of date. The amount depends on the relevant chargeable work, rather than a fixed tariff for the name of the hazard alone.
Use an invoice check that separates facts from disagreement
| Check | Question to resolve |
|---|---|
| Reference and business | Does this relate to the correct business and inspection? |
| Written notification | Which material breach and work does the charge concern? |
| Entries and calculation | Are the dates, described work, time and rate understood? |
| Disagreement | Is the issue a factual invoice query, the breach decision or another specific point? |
| Action owner | Who will use the official route and track the response and due dates? |
Keep the correspondence together. An unclear entry is a reason to ask a specific question rather than ignore the entire invoice.
Follow the official payment, query and dispute process
HSE’s payment guidance gives the current general thirty-day payment period and explains treatment of queried or disputed amounts. Check the invoice and current instructions, including payment of any undisputed part.
Use the official query and dispute procedure: query first, then, if necessary, make a written dispute within the stated period. At the time checked, that is twenty-one days from HSE’s reply to the query. An independent panel considers disputes, and additional costs can apply where the dispute is not upheld.
Describe the entries or decision challenged, the reasons and supporting information. An invoice dispute has its own process; it does not remove the need to control the risk or comply with an enforcement notice.
Example: checking a follow-up charge
A manufacturer receives an invoice containing site time and later office work. The manager first matches it to the breach notification and correspondence. The existence of office time is not, by itself, proof of an error. One entry remains unclear, so the manager raises a precise query with the reference and reasons.
A separate owner continues the corrective action. This keeps the invoice question and the safety response moving, with a record of deadlines and decisions.
Common mistakes
- Using an outdated hourly figure.
- Assuming a charge covers only the minutes after the breach was explained.
- Confusing an invoice dispute with an appeal against a notice.
- Leaving the whole matter unassigned until a reminder arrives.
Next steps
Read the written notification and invoice together, check the live official rate and assign one person to manage any query. Continue the required safety action while the financial issue is resolved.
Check HSE’s current FFI guidance — The official scheme pages provide current scope, rates, payment and dispute instructions.