Image credit: Health and Safety Executive
A roofing company has been ordered to pay more than £185,000 in fines and costs after an employee fell through an industrial rooflight, sustaining fatal injuries.
On 25 February 2018, Jonathan Moore was undertaking repairs on a large warehouse roof in the Port of Tilbury when he stepped on a fragile rooflight, which gave way. He fell more than 10 metres to the concrete floor below and sustained fatal injuries.
The repair work was carried out without appropriate safety precautions in place, an investigation by the Health and Safety Executive revealed. The planning and supervision of the work was completely inadequate, which also put a self-employed worker assisting with the repairs at risk.
'Unsafe work at height without suitable and sufficient controls in place is not acceptable'
Essex-based R4 Industrial Roofing Cladding Systems, which was dissolved in September 2019 but restored by a court order ahead of the sentencing, pleaded guilty to breaching sections 2(1) and 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act. It was fined £165,000 and ordered to pay costs of £20,957.
'Falls from height remain one of the most common causes of work-related fatalities in this country and the risks associated with working at height are well known,' HSE inspector Glyn Davies said after the hearing.
'Companies should be aware that unsafe work at height without suitable and sufficient controls in place is not acceptable and [the] HSE will not hesitate to take appropriate enforcement action against those that fall below the required standard.'