Health and Safety News

Construction company and plastering firm fined after employee falls from height

Two companies have been fined after a worker sustained serious injuries by falling approximately three metres through a hole cut into a floor during the refurbishment of a property at in Aldeburgh, Suffolk. Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court heard how on 27 July 2017, an employee was working as a dry liner for R&B Plastering Limited, who were contracted on the site to Robert Norman Construction Limited, the Principal Contractor (PC).

Covid: HSE refuses to close workplaces that are putting employees at risk

The government’s health and safety watchdog has failed to shut down any workplaces that put employees at risk of coronavirus even though there have been over 3,500 outbreaks at work since the start of the pandemic, the Observer has discovered. Analysis of the Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) enforcement database reveals there have been no Covid-related prohibition notices, which allow inspectors to immediately halt activity in workplaces deemed injurious or damaging to health, since last March.

Company fined after workers injured in forklift truck crash

A carpet sample book manufacturer has been fined after two workers were seriously injured in an incident where a forklift truck crashed into an onsite refuse skip.Manchester Magistrates’ Court heard how on 29 July 2019, three workers at Profile Patterns Limited had been emptying waste from plastic bins at their site in Wigan. They were using a forklift truck to raise the bins to a height that enabled a worker at either side of the truck to manually tip the bins into a skip.

Worker fell to his death through fragile asbestos roof

A roofer was fatally injured when he fell six metres whilst working on a replacement roof at a property in Kirkdale, Liverpool.Liverpool Crown Court heard how on 22 May 2017, the roofer was completing snagging work on a replacement roof. The worker had accessed a part of the old roof made of fragile asbestos cement sheets, which gave way.

Sentencing guideline: five years on

In the five years since the implementation of new court guidelines for sentencing health and safety offences, the average fine has tripled while prosecutions have halved. The Sentencing Council's Health and Safety Offences, Corporate Manslaughter and Food Safety and Hygiene Offences Definitive Guideline, which came into force on 1 February 2016, has seen the average fine handed out by courts increase from just over £54,000 in 2015-16 to more than £150,000 in 2018-19.

Safety advice for fleet managers

Road safety charity Brake has recently issued several advice sheets for fleet managers.

Sawmill company fined after worker fatally injured by machinery

A sawmill company has been fined after a worker was fatally injured when a lift conveyor collapsed on top of him.Hereford Crown Court heard how on 20 December 2017, two employees were working below a lift conveyor at Pontrilas sawmill in Hereford to remove wood debris.

Committee writes to the Health and Safety Executive regarding covid safety in the workplace

Chair of the Work and Pensions Committee Stephen Timms MP, has written to the Health and Safety Executive, to ask about its approach to ensuring workplace safety during the coronavirus pandemic. The letter notes reports that some workers are feeling under pressure to travel to their workplace against Government guidance and also the lack of enforcement notices issued by HSE since the start of this month’s lockdown.

Hotel and porter fined after fire causes fatalities

A LONDON-based company has been fined Â£500,000 for fire safety failings that led to the deaths of two guests at the Cameron House Hotel in 2017. An employee of the company had an 18-month Supervision Order imposed and a Community Payback Order and ordered to carry out 300 hours of unpaid work after admitting health and safety failings which started the fire.

Employer sentenced after worker struck by excavator

A sole trader who operated a construction and demolition waste recycling business has been fined after a worker sustained serious crush injuries when he was struck from behind by a 13.5 tonne excavator.Manchester Magistrates’ Court heard how on 11 February 2019, the 50-year-old employee was manually sorting demolition waste in the yard of the waste recycling premises of William Leeson t/a W Leeson and Son, in Walkden, Greater Manchester.