Firm fined after worker falls through roof

Company directors are being urged to implement safe systems of work for employees who operate at height after a Burton-on-Trent firm was prosecuted for failing to do so.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is warning bosses to ensure the health and safety of staff who work at height after Staffordshire magistrates' court fined Forster Refurbishment and Property Services £7,000 and ordered it to pay costs of £3,138 following a fall by an employee which left him with serious injuries.

In April 2007, two members of staff were working on the roof of an industrial unit in Uttoxeter when one fell onto the neighbouring roof pitch, which gave way, resulting in the man falling 4.5 metres onto a concrete floor.

The business pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 as sufficient measures had not been implemented to protect anyone from falling.

HSE inspector Tariq Khan said accidents could be avoided if firms took the time to properly inform staff of health and safety issues.

"Many incidents could be avoided if companies ensured that they had thought through a safe way of tackling a job, provided all necessary protective equipment and ensured workers were fully trained and properly supervised," he stated.

R H Phillips and Sons was recently fined by Chichester magistrates' court after an employee fell from an unguarded mobile scaffold, suffering fractured ribs.