The Health and Safety Officer

Don't treat the health and safety inspector as someone to get the better of (save that for the building inspector:) but rather someone who is trying to make the working environment as safe as possible. The HSE aren't out to get the employer, their mission is to ensure that risks to peoples health and safety at work are properly controlled, including risks to you.

The inspector has a great deal of power. For instance, they have the right to enter a place of work at any reasonable time, can take criminal proceedings and they can place a prohibition notice on equipment such as scaffold. Their primary purpose though, is to advise and assist you in meeting your health and safety obligations.

Unfortunately, the small jobbing builders first encounter with an inspector is usually after an accident and by then of course its too late.

This is a shame because the usual inspector is a wealth of information and most of their advice is practical and based on their own experiences. 

On some jobs it might be worth contacting your local council inspector or the HSE inspector to get their opinions. An example would be taking on a job such as exterior repairs to a shop front. You may be worried about how busy the high street is, how do you guard against people walking close to the scaffold, have you taken enough precautions etc.

By discussing the issues with an inspector you will know that you have done everything that was reasonably practicable to ensure the safety of the public. It also means that as long as you followed all their recommendations, you would be unlikely to face criminal proceedings should an accident occur.

Contact your local town hall to find your local health and safety officer.