Health and Safety Failings – Prosecution following illegal boiler installation

Prosecution following illegal boiler installation:

Key Facts:

• Two men have been fined following illegal boiler installation.
• A contractor knowingly subcontracted a non-Gas Safe Registered engineer to install a boiler in a property he was in the process of extending.
• They were fined a combined £3,000, costs of £1291.80, and a victim surcharge of £240.

The Case:

Two contractors have been fined after failing to comply with Gas Safe regulations.

A contractor, who had been hired by homeowners to build an extension, subcontracted the installation of a gas boiler to a second contractor who was not Gas Safe registered.

The first contractor knew that the second was not Gas Safe registered, but expected him to attend to the work with a registered engineer who would oversee and sign-off on the work. This practice is expressly prohibited by Gas Safe regulations.

A Gas Safe inspection found serious safety flaws with the boiler’s installation:

• There had been a serious gas leak
• The boiler cover had been incorrectly fitted
• The flue had not been correctly sealed.

The boiler was subsequently made safe by a registered engineer.

The case was heard at Bury St Edmunds Magistrates’ Court on 12 March 2015. Both men pleaded guilty to breaching the Gas Safety (Installation & Use) Regulations 1998. The first was fined £2,000, costs of £645.90, and a victim surcharge of £120. The second man was fined £1,000, £645.90 in costs, and a victim surcharge of £120.

What the HSE inspector had to say:

Speaking after the hearing the HSE Inspector Ivan Brooke stated that:

“HSE will not hesitate to investigate cases of unsafe and unregistered gas work and hold offenders to account.  Householders should always ask for evidence of Gas Safe registration and/or check the Gas Safe Register online before allowing work on gas appliances.  Gas work by people not competent to do so can expose people to risk of fire/explosion or carbon monoxide poisoning.”

What the law states:

Regulation 4 of the Gas Safety (Installation & use) Regulations 1998 states:

Where an employer or a self-employed person requires any work in relation to a gas fitting to be carried out at any place of work under his control or where an employer or self-employed person has control to any extent of work in relation to a gas fitting, he shall take reasonable steps to ensure that the person undertaking that work is, or is employed by, a member of a class of persons approved by the Health and Safety Executive under regulation 3(3) above.

Section 3(3) of the Gas Safety (Installation & use) Regulations 1998 states:

No employer shall allow any of his employees to carry out any work in relation to a gas fitting or service pipework and no self-employed person shall carry out any such work, unless the employer or self-employed person, as the case may be, is a member of a class of persons approved for the time being by the Health and Safety Executive for the purposes of this paragraph.

What Gas Safe had to say:

Russell Kramer, the Gas Safe Register’s Chief Executive said:

“Every Gas safe registered engineer carries a Gas Safe ID card, which shows who they are and the type of gas appliances they are qualified to work on”

We always encourage the public to ask for and check the card and if they have any concerns about the safety of work carried out in their home, to speak to us.  Every year we investigate thousands of reports of illegal gas work.  Call us on 0800 408 5500 or visit our website.”

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