Risk news

Construction companies must implement proper health and safety measures to ensure the safety of their employees.

The importance of this was underlined recently when a building company and its director received a £30,000 fine after a worker fell nearly 30 feet from scaffolding.

In a court hearing, the firm pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. The company's director pleaded guilty to breaching section 37(1) of the same act.

The findings of an investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) revealed that the company had "failed in their duty to provide as safe system of work, include a lack of suitable means to prevent falls from the scaffolding".

After the hearing, HSE inspector Debbie John said: "Falls from height remain the single biggest cause of workplace deaths and one of the main causes of major injury and construction companies must not leave safety of their workers as an after-thought, which could lead to tragic consequences."

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