A new study* has revealed the corporate mistakes that cost UK businesses the most in fines.

Using data from the Good Jobs First Violation Tracker, Protecht analysed over 36,000 corporate fines from 2020 – 2024, to discover what the most common types of corporate violations are, and which are the most costly to UK businesses. 

The research found that the most common corporate mistake is labour standards violations. There has been over 4,000 fines a year issued for this type of violation, costing UK businesses £232 million during the five year period analysed. 

Workplace safety/health violations are the second most fined corporate mistake. Between 2020 and 2024, there have been over 5,000 offences, with fines adding up to £211 million. 

Employment related offences are the most common type of violation that companies get fined for, accounting for 59% of all offences. There have been over 4,000 fines a year on average for employment related offences. 

Labour standards violations are the most fined offences 

The research from Protecht analysed 51 different corporate violations, revealing that the most common type of corporate offences are labour standards violations. During the five year period analysed, there have been over 20,000 fines issued for this type of violation. UK businesses are penalised on average £11,000 for this type of offence.

The second most common offence was workplace safety/health violations. There have been more 1,000 fines a year for these offences, with an average fine of £39,000. 

There have been over 3,700 fines issued for consumer protection violations. Fines for this type of offence have surpassed £712 million in the last five years, averaging at £190,000 per violation. 

Anti-money-laundering deficiencies are the fourth most common with 1,724, followed by pension plan violations at 1,295. 

Bribery violations have cost UK companies the highest sum in fines since the turn of the decade. These violations have been punished with £2.1 billion worth of fines, at an average fine of £300 million per offence. 

Employment related offences cost UK businesses £54 million a year

The research also categorised the 51 types of violations into seven categories, to reveal which groups of offences are most costly. UK businesses are fined on average £616 million a year for competition related offences. The average fine for competition related violations is £26.1 million, the highest of the seven groups analysed. 

From 2020 – 2024, financial related offences had the second highest total cost accumulated in fines at £2.4 billion. These offences also have the second highest average fine fee at £733,000. 

The third most costly fines have been for consumer protection related offences. These violations have totalled over £1.3 billion in fines, with an average cost of £303,000 per fine. 

Employment related offences have the lowest average fine per violation at £12,600. However, due to the high volume of offences, employment related violations have cost UK businesses £272 million over the five year period analysed. 

59% of corporate offences are employment related

Of the seven different categories analysed, the most common type of corporate offences in the last five years have been employment related. 

There have been over 21,000 fines in the last five years handed out to UK businesses for employment violations. 94% of employment related offences are for labour standards violations. 59% of all recorded offences were employment related offences.

The second most common type of offences are safety related. 15% of all fines were issued for safety related offences, the most common type being workplace safety/health violations. 

12% of all violations are consumer protection related, followed by 9% for financial offences, and 2% each for healthcare, and environment related violations. 

Although competition related offences accumulated the highest cost in fines, they only make up 0.3% of all recorded violations. 

Protecht’s VP of Risk & Compliance, Jared Siddle, commented on the findings of the study:

“From bribery to money laundering, the financial and reputational costs of non-compliance in the UK are huge. The data shows that while labour violations are the most frequent, it’s the competition and corruption breaches that break the bank. Too often, risk is seen as an operational inconvenience. But it should be front and centre for boards and executives, because that one oversight can cost millions.”

Study by Protecht  https://www.protechtgroup.com/en-gb/blog/the-most-costly-corporate-mistakes