Bridgend County Borough Council recently prosecuted a local plumbers’ merchants after an employee fell through a fragile roof.
On 15 April 2010, the company was carrying out repair works to a leaking, cement asbestos roof at its premises when one of its employees fell through it. The man landed on the concrete floor some five metres below, sustaining injuries to his back, ribs and pelvis.
The company entered guilty pleas on eight charges in total, but following deliberations the magistrates imposed a fine of £6000 for a breach of s.2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work, etc Act 1974 and £2000 for a breach of regulation 4(1) of the Work at Height Regulation 2005.
In mitigation, the company stated that this was a one-off incident in 50 years of trading. The company argued that there had been a misunderstanding and that the employer would have prepared a work plan and conducted the work on his return to the premises on the day of the accident.
The company pleaded guilty to the breaches and was fined a total of £8000, with £1043.53 in court costs awarded to Bridgend County Borough Council.