A coach fabricator has appeared in court after an apprentice was seriously injured in a fall from height.

The court heard the worker was helping clean workshop roof gutters when he stepped back onto a fragile skylight. He fell 30 feet to the floor below.

The Health & Safety Executive’s (HSE) investigation found the

  • work at height activity had not been properly supervised
  • risks associated with working at height and on fragile surfaces had not been identified

Bespoke Bodies Ltd pleaded guilty to breaking the Management of Health & Safety at Work Regulations 1999 and Health & Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.

The Health & Safety failings landed the company a £20,000 fine with costs of £3,300.

Common cause of injury

The fine highlights the dangers involved in working at height.

Falls from height remain one of the most common causes of work related injuries. More than 4,000 people a year in the UK suffer major injuries working at height.

The HSE say the risks of working at height are well known and that “Those in control of work have a responsibility to devise safe methods of working and to provide the necessary instruction and training to their workers”.

Safe steps to working at height

A common cause of incidents is a failure to take sufficient precautions especially when working at relatively low heights. Most of the major injuries are from falls of less than two metres.

Risks are often underestimated and work not properly planned. But work at height is a risky business. Risks need to be properly assessed and work carefully planned even at relatively low heights.

An organisation’s safety culture will strongly influence the way its workers work at height and therefore the likelihood of incidents. Many organisations comply with the basic legal requirements by providing workers with the correct PPE and basic training. But many employers end their efforts there. In other words if an accident happens it’s the worker’s fault.

Yet meeting the basic legal requirements alone may not be enough to keep workers safe and avoid serious incidents. More progressive organisations with strong safety cultures can dramatically improve safety practices. Demonstrating you care about the health, safety and wellbeing of your workers may instil positive safety behaviour. Management should regularly inspect equipment and practices on-site. Encourage feedback from workers and communicate best practices.

Ellis Whittam discuss how to develop a positive safety culture here.

Find what you were looking for?

Our FREE resources library contains over 200 searchable blogs, guides and templates focused around Employment Law and Health & Safety issues that employers face on a day-to-day basis.

Get your FREE download

We combine the service quality of a law firm with the certainty of fixed-fee services to provide expert, solutions-focused Employment LawHR and Health & Safety support tailored to employers.

Call us on 0345 226 8393.

Get your FREE download

We combine the service quality of a law firm with the certainty of fixed-fee services to provide expert, solutions-focused Employment LawHR and Health & Safety support tailored to employers.

Call us on 0345 226 8393.

Get your FREE consultation

Submit your details and one of our team will be in touch.

Activate your free trial

The rota module has been built on our brand new technology platform, so you’ll need to create a new account that you can then integrate with your existing Youmanage/PeopleNest account.

Follow these steps to activate your trial

  1. Log in to your existing Youmanage/PeopleNest account
  2. Navigate to admin mode
  3. In the menu, navigate to Integrations > Marketplace
  4. On the ‘PeopleNest – Rota Module’ line, click ‘configure’
  5. Create your new account – because we’ve built the new Rota Module on our brand new PeopleNest platform, you’ll need to create an account. Make sure you use the same email address as your admin account in Youmanage (can use Microsoft/Google authentication)
  6. Sign-in using your new login details
  7. Read the message about the integration and click continue if you are happy to proceed
  8. It takes a few minutes for your employees to start pulling through, then you’re ready to go!

Book a consultation

One of our team will be in touch as soon as possible. If we miss you, we’ll send over a Calendly invite so you can choose a more convenient time and date for a callback. 

Get your FREE consultation

Submit your details and one of our team will be in touch.

Search...

Get your FREE consultation

Submit your details and one of our team will be in touch.

Get your FREE consultation

Submit your details and one of our team will be in touch.

Before you go…

We can help with that HR problem or health and safety query. If you’re an employer, leave your details below and our team will call you back.

Register your interest

Submit your details and one of our team will be in touch.

Get your FREE consultation

Submit your details and one of our team will be in touch.

Download your FREE guide

Submit your details below.

Request a callback

Submit your details and one of our team will be in touch.

Need some help?

Call our team now on:

0345 226 8393

Request a Callback

Submit your details and one of our team will be in touch.

Request a Callback
Hi, how can we help?
Click the button below to chat to an expert.