Company fined £5k for risking workplace accidents

A Manchester-based home improvement organisation has been hit with a fine of £5,000 for failing to ensure that one of its employees was not at high risk of suffering an accident at work.

Viewline Northwest pleaded guilty to breaching section 6(3) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 during a case at Trafford Magistrates' Court after it was prosecuted following an investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

Inspectors from the HSE witnessed a man working on the roof of a home in the suburb of Timperley - situated around nine miles from the centre of Manchester - in September 2009 while standing on a platform which had no guardrail.

The company had previously been cautioned by the HSE following a similar episode in March 2009, but this time the regulatory body decided to take legal action.

HSE official Helen Mansfield commented: "It is simply unacceptable that this company had not heeded previous warnings from HSE and it is lucky that this incident did not result in injury."

Posted by Patrick White
 

22/09/2010 15:33