HSE Issues Over £2M In Fines In April 

5 May 2023

The HSE issued over £2.0m in fines in April with 4 workplace fatalities. This included a fine of £800k to a construction company who failed to implement sufficient measures to prevent children gaining access onto their site. Sadly, this resulted in a 10-year old boy falling down a manhole and dying from his injuries.

In another case, a company was fined £80k with the director received a custodial sentence of 10 months. The HSE found that they had failed to remove asbestos safely. The company had provided fake air test certificates and waste transfer notes to customers along with falsifying asbestos training certificates and insurance documents. The HSE have recently launched a campaign highlighting the dangers of asbestos and guidance on the safe working with asbestos.

Another custodial sentence issued in April was for 14 months to an employer for not constructing scaffolding or any other measures to prevent falls from a roof. This resulted in a worker falling over 16ft and later dying of his injuries. The HSE concluded that assessing and planning work at height is essential to ensuring that suitable and sufficient measures are in place, to prevent falls from height.

The largest contributor to the overall fine in April was for £1m. This was issued to a concrete manufacturer who failed to have a safe system of work for the use of their metal grab and the HSE found they had not carried out a sufficient and suitable risk assessment. Sadly, this resulted in the death of a worker who was struck in the head after being trapped in the jaws of the grab when a rope connected to the locking lever snapped.

Following these events in, employers should ask themselves:

Are all your risk assessments routinely reviewed?
Are they still suitable and sufficient?
Are your employees up to date with all their training needs?

For further advice, please get in touch today.