Construction now ranks as the most costly sector for health and safety offences as fines reached £14m, followed by manufacturing at £12m.

Four construction companies were charged over £1m in 2016. Balfour Beatty Utility Solutions suffered the largest at £2.6m last May after a trench collapse killed a worker.

Research conducted by the insurance and risk law firm BLM tracked 87 offences committed by construction companies since January 2016, which accounted for almost a third of all health and safety fines issued.

The hike in fines comes after sentencing guidelines were rachetted up in February 2016.

Courts now consider culpability, seriousness and likelihood of harm and the size of a business and its turnover when imposing fines.

Fines for businesses with a turnover in excess of £50m can now reach up to £10m for health and safety offences, and corporate manslaughter fines could be as much as £20m.

Helen Devery, partner at BLM, said:“The new sentencing guidelines reflect historic concerns that fines were proportionately too low for offences.

“Now, penalties are imposed in proportion to the size of the business rather than using a universal figure for all offences, which sends a strong message to all construction businesses. It is people and business critical to ensure that safety processes and systems are a board level priority.

“Robust and proactive audit processes that interrogate and improve systems will be seen as best practice. At the heart of this is a commitment to effective risk assessment and training across all parts of the business.”

Ex-HSE principal inspector David Shorrock, now managing director of DS Risk Management, said: “The year ahead will further reinforce how much getting health and safety wrong can cost an organisation.

“The astronomical levels of fines under the new regime will continue and it is not beyond the realms of possibility that 2017 will see the first £10m fine.”