Tool · Illustrative only - What could a prosecution actually cost?
Built from the UK Sentencing Council’s real published guideline figures and real recent cases — not noise-specific fines, and not a prediction for any particular business.
Your business’s annual turnover
If a breach was found and prosecuted
Real recent UK health & safety fines, for context
| Organisation | Fine | Breach |
|---|---|---|
| David Lloyd Leisure Club | £2.55m | Section 3 HSWA 1974 (child drowning) |
| BAM Nuttall Limited | £2.3m | Section 2(1) HSWA 1974 (employee drowning) |
| Stateside Foods Limited | £800,000 | Sections 2(1) & 3(1) HSWA 1974 (machinery injuries) |
| Stark Building Materials (Jewson) | £400,000 | Section 3 HSWA 1974 (asbestos mismanagement) |
None of these four cases involved noise exposure specifically — they’re shown to illustrate the scale UK courts actually impose under the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974, of which a serious noise-at-work breach is one possible category. Source: British Safety Council, “Sentencing for health and safety offences: how the level of fines is rising” (2024).
Illustrative range
Choose a turnover band and a severity level to see the published guideline range.
Not legal advice, and not a prediction. Every real prosecution turns on its specific facts, decided by a court — nothing here estimates what any particular business would actually face. The better number to know is your own: a proper Noise at Work Assessment tells you where you stand before an inspector does.