A NE company prosecuted after worker’s fall has been fined £20,000.  The Tyne and Wear engineering company was fined £20,000 after a worker fractured his pelvis and suffered internal injuries after falling through a petrol station forecourt canopy.

The employee of G Nicholson (Engineers) Limited was replacing guttering at the top of the canopy on the company’s petrol station in Blue House Lane, Washington, Tyne and Wear, on 5 December 2019.

As he was removing corrugated metal sheets to access sections of the guttering below, he was knocked off balance when a gust of wind caught the sheet, causing him to fall approximately 4 metres through a fragile section of the canopy on to concrete below.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that a risk assessment should have been carried out and, had a method statement been produced, this would have identified the need for effective control measures to prevent employees falling from the edge of the canopy or through the exposed fragile roof surface.

G Nicholson (Engineers) Limited, of Blue House Lane, Washington, Tyne and Wear pleaded guilty to breaching Section 4(1) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 at Gateshead Magistrates’ Court on 12 October 2022 and was fined £20,000, with £7,825 costs and a victim surcharge of £190.

“A worker suffered serious injuries which could have easily been avoided if the company had adopted appropriate control measures when carrying out this task.

“This incident highlights the importance of conducting a suitable and sufficient risk assessment and using the findings of that assessment to ensure the work is properly planned, appropriately supervised and, ultimately, carried out in a safe manner.”

HSE Inspector Scott Wynne

Preventing Worker’s fall

Employers have a duty to assess the risks of working at height and to eliminate or reduce risks as far as reasonably practicable.  The Work at Height Regulations 2005 impose duties on employers to ensure that activities which are required to take place at height are conducted safely. 

Work at height means work in any place where, if precautions were not taken, a person could fall a distance liable to cause personal injury. This includes work above ground/floor level, locations where you could fall from an edge, through an opening or fragile surface or could fall from ground level into an opening in a floor or a hole in the ground

Work at height does not include a slip or a trip on the level, as a fall from height has to involve a fall from one level to a lower level, nor does it include walking up and down a permanent staircase in a building. 

Unsafe working at height can occur when tasks are not properly planned.  The Regulations apply to all work at height, where there is risk of a fall liable to cause personal injury. They place duties on employers, and those who control any work at height activity (such as facilities managers or building owners who may contract others to work at height).  As part of the Regulations, you must ensure:

• all work at height is properly planned and organised
• those involved in work at height are competent
• the risks from work at height are assessed, and appropriate work equipment is selected and used
• the risks of working on or near fragile surfaces are properly managed
• the equipment used for work at height is properly inspected and maintained

Before working at height, you must follow these simple steps:

• avoid work at height where it is reasonably practicable to do so
• where work at height cannot be easily avoided, prevent falls using either an existing place of work that is already safe or the right type of equipment
• minimise the distance and consequences of a fall, by using the right type of equipment where the risk cannot be eliminated

In planning a work at height task, you should:

• do as much work as possible from the ground
• ensure workers can get safely to and from where they work at height
• ensure equipment is suitable, stable and strong enough for the job, maintained and checked regularly
• not overload or overreach when working at height
• take precautions when working on or near fragile surfaces
• provide protection from falling objects
• consider emergency evacuation and rescue procedures

What about ladders?

The law says that ladders can be used for work at height when a risk assessment has shown that using equipment offering a higher level of fall protection is not justified because of the low risk and short duration of use; or there are existing workplace features which cannot be altered.

Short duration is not the deciding factor in establishing whether an activity is acceptable or not – you should have first considered the risk. As a guide, if your task would require staying up a leaning ladder or stepladder for more than 30 minutes at a time, it is recommended that you consider alternative equipment.

You should only use ladders in situations where they can be used safely, e.g. where the ladder will be level and stable, and where its reasonably practicable to do so, the ladder can be secured.

The HSE has produced a guide, Safe Use of Ladders and Stepladders which is available as a free download.

If you require advice on working at height in your business, please contact one of the Jacksons team.