A company and its general manager have been fined after ignoring Health & Safety law despite the fact that no injury had been reported and no one suffered ill health.
The court heard Cambridge Timbertec Ltd had failed to keep up the safety standards demanded by Health & Safety Executive (HSE) inspectors.
The company was issued with several prohibition and improvement notices. It was also given written advice following inspection. At first, the firm complied with the notices and guidance. But in a follow-up visit inspectors found the company had allowed the standards identified in previous inspections to slip.
Cambridge Timbertec Ltd accepted it broke the:
- Management of Health & Safety at Work Regulations 1999
- Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005
- Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002
- Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998
It was fined £40,000 and ordered to pay costs of £4,000. The company’s general manager admitted breaking the Health & Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. He was fined £3,000 with costs of £700.
The case highlights how important it is to comply with Health & Safety law. The HSE stress both companies and individuals will be prosecuted even if there are no reported cases of injury or ill-health.
The HSE said “Duty holders have the responsibility to ensure they have suitable competent advice to be able to fully understand the risks employees face and implement adequate control measures so they can work safely. They also need to ensure they are able to identify early signs of deteriorating health which may be an indication of inadequate control measures. In this case, Cambridge Timbertec Ltd and its general manager failed to do so.”
