Work at Height Prosecutions, April 2014

Most work at height prosecutions are avoidable (by taking sensible and appropriate measures). A roofing firm and its managing director have been fined after they allowed workers onto a house roof to use a jet washer without safety measures in place.

The Magistrates’ Court heard that Managing Director had visited the site on the morning the work was due to start, and was aware of the site arrangements. The company also failed to provide proof that it held Employers’ Liability Insurance – a legal requirement – which allows workers to claim compensation if they suffer a workplace injury. The court was also made aware that the company had previously been served with a Prohibition Notice in 2011 relating to unsafe roof work and so was well aware of the dangers.

IQRS pleaded guilty to breaches of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 and of the Employers’ Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969. The company was fined £3,000 and ordered to pay £2,000 towards the cost of the prosecution. The Managing Director  was fined £1,000 and ordered to pay prosecution costs of £1,619 after admitting two breaches of the Work at Height Regulations 2005, adding to the work at height prosecutions.

Speaking after the hearing, HSE Inspector Laura Moran said:

Falls from height are responsible for around a third of workplace deaths every year, with 25 people losing their lives in 2012/13 alone.  I’d therefore like to thank the member of the public who alerted us to the work, as they may well have prevented a serious injury.

Both [ … IQRS and The MD … ] put workers’ lives in danger by allowing them onto a slippery roof without safety measures in place. This meant that workers could have been badly injured if they had slipped and fallen to the ground below.

If workers had been injured then they may not have been able to claim compensation as the firm also failed to provide us with any proof that it had Employers’ Liability Insurance.

Work at height prosecutions are far too common, particularly in the construction industry.