Health and Safety Failings – School fined £40,000 after fall from height

School fined £40,000 after fall from height

Key Facts

• A school have been fined after a worker fell from height
• A member of a maintenance team suffered injuries after falling from a roof in the school grounds
• The school were fined £40,000 plus costs.

The Case

A school in Essex have been fined after an incident in which a worker fell from a roof.

In January of 2014 a maintenance team were working on a residential flat in the school grounds. Whilst working on the roof, a 63 year old employee’s foot got caught and he fell around 2.6 metres to the ground.

The worker suffered significant injuries, including a broken collarbone and chipped vertebrae.

The subsequent HSE investigation found that there had been no effective guardrails or other structures in place to protect workers from falls from height. There were also no arrangements for supervision of the work, and it was not planned or carried out in a safe manner.

The case was heard at Chelmsford Crow Court where the school pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 4(1) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005. They were fined £40,000 plus costs of £6,477.10.

What the law states

Every employer shall ensure that work at height is— 

(a) properly planned;

(b) appropriately supervised; and

(c)carried out in a manner which is so far as is reasonably practicable safe,

and that its planning includes the selection of work equipment in accordance with regulation 7. 

Find more information about safe work at height here >>

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