Housing services firm St Leger Homes has been fined £250,000 after a worker fell through a flat roof during construction work.
St Leger Homes is an arm’s-length management organisation set up by Doncaster Council in 2005 which manages all the local authority’s 21,000 homes.
Sheffield Magistrates Court heard how, on 14 September 2016, two operatives were undertaking a flat roof replacement of a single storey outhouse at the rear of premises in Moorends, Doncaster.
During the re-roofing a joist failed causing one of the operatives to fall internally through the roof. The operative sustained three cracked ribs, contusions and was unable to work for seven months.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that St Leger Homes failed to ensure that the work at height was properly planned, appropriately supervised and carried out in a safe manner.
St Leger Homes pleaded guilty to breaching Section 4 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and was fined £250,000 and ordered to pay costs of £1086.20.
After the hearing, HSE inspector Stuart Whitesmith commented: “This incident could so easily have been avoided by simply carrying out correct control measures and safe working practices.”
“Those in control of work at height have a responsibility to ensure that it is properly planned and appropriately supervised to ensure that it is carried out in a safe manner.”
The St Leger Homes website says that the organisation has received the British Safety Council’s highest accolade for health and safety management, the Sword of Honour, each year from 2011 to 2015.
