Marvin OnumonuMake UK has warned manufacturers that they could face heavy fines, or even shutdowns, if they fail to deal with workplace health issues.
The warning came as the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) started focusing more on workplace health during inspections.
This follows a new 10-year plan aimed at cutting work-related ill health, which has been rising.
Recent figures from the HSE show 1.9 million workers suffered work-related ill health in 2024/25, up by 200,000 from last year.
Most of this increase was due to stress, depression and anxiety, which rose from 776,000 to 964,000 cases.
The rise in health problems led to more than 30 million working days lost and cost the UK around £14bn a year.
In 2024, the HSE carried out 246 criminal prosecutions, with total fines of £33m; about half of these were for workplace health issues.
The new strategy targets six main areas: manual handling, display screen equipment, COSHH, noise, mental health and stress.
Inspectors are now asking businesses what hazards they tackle, what controls they use and how they make sure these controls are working.
Make UK said health risks are often less obvious and can take years to show, which means employers could still be prosecuted in the future.
Chris Newson (pictured), director of environment, health & safety at Make UK, said: “This will come up more and more when inspections take place and companies need to ensure they have sufficient processes in place to maintain workplace health and controls to ensure these processes are working.
“Failure to do this will leave them at risk of potential prosecution and, in extreme circumstances, shutdowns until the issue is resolved.”
