UK Offence Report

3 It is an offence for a person – a to contravene any requirement imposed by the inspector under paragraph 2…

regulation 29(3) of Working Time (Amendment No. 2) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003 (revoked)

This offence was read from the text as made, and no revised version was available, so a later revocation could not be ruled out. Check the current text at legislation.gov.uk.

What the provision says

3 It is an offence for

a person –

a to contravene any requirement imposed by the inspector under paragraph

2 of Schedule 3;

b to prevent or attempt to prevent any other person from appearing before the inspector or from answering any question to which the inspector may by virtue of paragraph 2(2)(e) of Schedule

3 require an answer;

c to contravene any requirement or prohibition imposed by an improvement notice or

a prohibition notice (including any such notice as is modified on appeal);

d intentionally to obstruct the inspector in the exercise or performance of his powers or duties;

e to use or disclose any information in contravention of paragraph

8 of Schedule 3;

f to make

a statement which he knows to be false or recklessly to make

a statement which is false, where the statement is made in purported compliance with

a requirement to furnish any information imposed by or under these Regulations.

Text as made, from legislation.gov.uk. © Crown copyright, reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0. This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.

Who it binds, and what has to be proved

Binds
a person
Conduct
obstructing an official exercising a power
Fault element
Requires proof of a state of mind
Burden of proof
No statutory defence — prosecution proves everything

The prosecution must prove both that the conduct happened and that it was done with the state of mind the provision names (intentionally, recklessly).

The provision states no defence, so the prosecution bears the burden on every element of the offence.

Classifier’s reasoning: mens rea word in the offence-creating words: intentionally, recklessly.

What would breach regulation 29(3)?

These are illustrations, not law. They are generated from the provision’s own words to show the shape of the offence. Whether any particular conduct is caught depends on the full text, on any amendment since, and on the facts.

  1. Refusing to let an inspector onto premises they are entitled to enter under the Working Time (Amendment No. 2) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003.
  2. Sending an official away, or telling staff to say nothing, where the power being exercised does not depend on anyone's consent.
  3. Physically blocking an examination, or removing something an officer has said they intend to inspect.

Penalty

Mode of trial
Either way — magistrates’ court or Crown Court
Maximum fine
£5,000
Standard scale
Level 5
Maximum prison (summary)
3 months
Maximum prison (on indictment)
2 years

in Northern Ireland a reference to a level is construed as referring to the standard scale as it currently stands (Fines and Penalties (NI) Order 1984 art.5(3)), not as it stood when the instrument was made.

Sentencing

Offences of this kind are usually sentenced under the guidelines below. This is a mapping by subject, not a finding about this provision, and the links go to a search of the Sentencing Council’s own site.

Prosecution figures

No published per-offence figure was found for this provision, and it could not be matched to a Ministry of Justice offence code. Offences created by statutory instrument very largely do not have one. Absence of a figure is not evidence that the offence is unused.

Status and lifecycle

Current status
Status not determined
Made
10 July 2003
In force from
Not determined
Extent
Not stated

How this was established: read from the text as made; no revised version available, so later revocation could not be ruled out.

What the instrument is for

(This note is not part of the Regulations.) — the explanatory note published with the instrument, © Crown copyright.

These Regulations implement Council Directive 2000/34/EC (O.J. No. L195, 1.8.2000, p. 41). That Directive amends Council Directive 93/104/EC so that the provisions of the 1993 Directive, which concerned certain aspects of the organisation of working time, now apply to sectors and activities which were previously excluded from the scope of the 1993 Directive. Council Directive 93/104/EC was implemented by the Working Time Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1998 (“the 1998 Regulations”) and these Regulations amend the provisions of the 1998 Regulations. Regulation 4 amends regulation 2 of the 1998 Regulations to define “fishing vessel”, “mobile worker”, “offshore work” and “ship”. Regulation 5 substitutes a new regulation 18 of the 1998 Regulations to disapply wholly or partially the provisions of the 1998 Regulations for certain workers. The 1998 Regulations are disapplied in their entirety in the case of workers to whom Council Directive 1999/63/EC applies (seafarers); workers on board sea-going fishing vessels and workers on certain ships and hovercraft on inland waterways. In the case of workers in the armed forces or emergency services (where their activities conflict with the Regulations), workers covered by Council Directive 2000/79/EC (crew members on board civil aircraft) and doctors in training certain provisions are disapplied. The relevant provisions are the weekly working time and night work limits; the daily, weekly and in-work rest periods; the entitlement to paid annual leave; the right to a health assessment if a night worker and pattern of work protection for certain categories of worker. In the case of doctors in training the disapplication only has effect until 31st July 2004. In the case of mobile workers covered by the Road Transport Directive 2002/15/EC fewer provisions are disapplied; these are, the weekly working time and night work limits; the daily, weekly and in-work rest periods and pattern of work protection for certain categories of worker. Regulation 6 amends regulation 21 by adding to the list of special cases to which the night work limits and daily, weekly and in-work rest provisions do not apply in various circumstances, subject to the workers receiving compensatory rest. One additional special case is where the worker is engaged in the carriage of passengers on regular urban transport services. Another is where the worker works in rail transport and his activities are intermittent, he spends time working on board trains, or his activities are linked to transport timetables and to ensuring the continuity and regularity of traffic. Regulation 7 inserts a new regulation 24A in the 1998 Regulations, which excludes mobile workers from night work restrictions and rest entitlements. Instead, these workers are entitled to “adequate rest” as defined in paragraph 24A(3). Regulation 8 inserts a new regulation 25A in the 1998 Regulations, which provides for the 48-hour working time limit for doctors in training to be phased in over a period ending on 31st July 2009. In addition regulation 8 replaces the 17-week reference period for doctors in training with a period of 26 weeks from 1st August 2004. Regulation 9 inserts a new regulation 25B in the 1998 Regulations, which provides for a 52-week reference period for workers employed in offshore work. Regulation 10 revokes regulation 26 of the 1998 Regulations. Regulation 11 inserts new regulations 28 to 29D concerning enforcement and offences into the 1998 Regulations. These essentially replicate the provisions contained in the 1998 Regulations but provide for enforcement by the Civil Aviation Authority and the Department of the Environment in addition to the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland and district councils. Regulation 12 amends regulation 30 of the 1998 Regulations entitling mobile workers to seek redress through an industrial tribunal where an employer has refused to allow adequate rest. Regulation 13 inserts a new Schedule 3, which provides for the enforcement authorities to enforce through inspectors and sets out the powers of the inspectors.

Read the full note and every offence in this instrument

Other offences in the same instrument

How this was identified as an offence

Everything above rests on the judgement that this provision creates a criminal offence, rather than mentioning one. That judgement is made by rule, from the words of the provision, and this is the rule that made it — with a confidence of 0.90.

Basis
the provision says “it is an offence”; the provision says an offence is committed “if” something happens
Confidence
0.90 of 1.00

A provision that states a penalty for an offence created elsewhere can read very like one that creates an offence, and the rules can mistake the one for the other. If the text quoted above sets a penalty for something made an offence by another provision, treat the classification on this page with that in mind, and read the instrument.

Check the source