The ESOS deadline of 5th December 2015 has now passed, but there are still thousands of qualifying businesses that have not complied with regulations either by submitting their ESOS audit or by acknowledging their lateness with an ‘Intent to Comply’ form.
You are now at risk of enforcement action and penalties of up to £50,000 . However, don’t panic just yet as there may still be time.
While businesses that have yet to comply or submit the late notification may still be open to fines, it’s believed the Environment Agency will show greater leniency for those that have at least acknowledged the scheme and shown willing to comply although this is not guaranteed. Therefore we urge customers to submit their notification even if they have missed the initial deadline.
What is guaranteed, is that the worst position to be in is to have not submitted an intent to comply form at all. In failing to do this, your business has all but refused to comply or even recognise the existence of the ESOS obligation and it will be these businesses that we expect the Environment Agency to focus their attention on when handing out fines – if for no other reason than to encourage other ESOS dodgers to get moving on compliance.
What should I do?
Fill in an ‘Intent to Comply’ form now. You’ll need to explain why you missed the deadline and when you expect to be able to comply. We believe the Environmental Agency will look upon your lateness more favourably if you’ve already begun the process of collating your report as well.
Get yourself a lead assessor pronto and start making headway with your audit. Not only will you buy yourself some grace from the Environment Agency, but you’ll most likely save yourself some money in the long run as you’ll avoid the last minute rush for report completion when assessors will put up their premiums.
What’s the deadline now?
The deadline was the 5th December 2015 and it;s passed so if you have not completed your audit by now or submitted an ‘Intent to Comply’ form, we can’t guarantee you won’t be fined. However, there’s been deafening silence from the EA so we reckon they may be lenient if you start the ball rolling quickly.
If you submit your late notification form now, your audit deadline will be extended until 29th January 2016 (or 30 June 2016 if you’ve committed to achieving ISO 50001 certification as a form of compliance).
Need free advice?
Business Juice will help you to understand your ESOS requirements with no obligation to take up our services.
We are however, on hand if you need us to complete your ESOS assessment without overcharging you or trying to push you into putting your recommendations into place.
For an ESOS quote or advice, give Business Juice a call on 0800 051 5492 or email esos@businessjuice.co.uk.