The HSE can come into any business, make on-the-spot inspections, check records, and make sure they fully comply with all safety legislation. Health and safety legislation can include all aspects of health and safety within the workplace, infection control, and food hygiene regulations, just to name a few.
The HSE has the power to take legal action against the employer. The laws allow the criminal action to be taken. This would be done in court, and the action would be taken by the state. Civil action allows someone to take action for negligence and allow a compensation claim.
When the HSE investigate a business, they are looking to gather facts and look for any possible breaches of legislation. Once they have the facts, they consider what action must be taken and whether enforcement is required.
The HSE or other authorities can enforce it in different ways. One way would be to issue an improvement notice. This would give the company time to take corrective action. Prohibition notices can be served on an employer or person where there is a serious risk of personal injury or death. These can close down a machine on a production line or a complete business until the correct action has been taken.