England | Birmingham man convicted of providing false statements to SIA

Security Industry Authority | A Birmingham man has been ordered to pay fines and costs totalling £612 after pleading guilty to knowingly making false statements to the Security Industry Authority (SIA).

Ahroon Alam submitted a fabricated character reference from a Birmingham food bank as part of his appeal against the SIA’s decision to refuse his application for a door supervisor licence due to his past criminality.

The SIA investigated the validity of this reference, speaking to multiple senior staff within the food bank who confirmed they did not know Mr. Alam and had not provided him with a reference.

Mr. Alam appeared at Birmingham Magistrates’ Court and pleaded guilty at the earliest possible opportunity to his breach of the Private Security Industry Act 2001. The court fined him £80 and ordered him to pay both a £32 victim surcharge and £500 of prosecution costs.

— Accurate at time of publication | May 2025

Security Industry Authority | A Birmingham man has been ordered to pay fines and costs totalling £612 after pleading guilty to knowingly making false statements to the Security Industry Authority (SIA).

Ahroon Alam submitted a fabricated character reference from a Birmingham food bank as part of his appeal against the SIA’s decision to refuse his application for a door supervisor licence due to his past criminality.

The SIA investigated the validity of this reference, speaking to multiple senior staff within the food bank who confirmed they did not know Mr. Alam and had not provided him with a reference.

Mr. Alam appeared at Birmingham Magistrates’ Court and pleaded guilty at the earliest possible opportunity to his breach of the Private Security Industry Act 2001. The court fined him £80 and ordered him to pay both a £32 victim surcharge and £500 of prosecution costs.

— Accurate at time of publication | May 2025

England | Waste packaging company director pays high price in data fraud

Environment Agency | A Birmingham-based director and his company have been ordered to pay a Proceeds of Crime confiscation order, fines and costs totalling £476,995 for breaches of the Fraud Act 2006.

This follows an Environment Agency investigation into fraudulent entry of waste packaging data.

At Birmingham Crown Court, Shaobo Qin, a director of EDU Case Ltd, pleaded guilty to fraud by false representation. He was given a two-year prison sentence suspended for 18 months.

Qin, age 42, of Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands, was also ordered to pay a Proceeds of Crime confiscation order of £255,057. He must pay within two months or face three years in prison.

He was also disqualified as a director for four years and ordered to do 200 hours of unpaid work.

His company, EDU Case Ltd of Portway Road, Rowley Regis, was fined £200,000. The Environment Agency were also awarded £21,995 in investigation costs.

The court was told Qin’s company was a plastics and recycling exports enterprise. The offences were discovered by the Environment Agency towards the end of 2022.

The company, orchestrated by Qin, was deliberately and systematically entering false data on to the Environment Agency’s National Packaging Waste Database (NPWD) for non-existent waste exports.

This resulted in Qin receiving a benefit for himself and his company in the sum of approx. £255,000. He was arrested on 10 January 2024, where he was interviewed by Environment Agency officers.

EDU Case were accredited to carry out plastic packaging exports and able to issue “evidence” of that activity in the form of tonnage figures on the database.

This evidence could be bought by businesses who are obliged to account for their plastic packaging waste under the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 2007.

An audit conducted by Environment Agency officers in 2023 and information following that work identified discrepancies between the amount of waste exported and the amount of evidence issued.

The false entries represented nearly two-thirds of the business’ entire trade in 2022 towards the end of that year.

As part of that audit, a legal notice was served on Qin and the company in September 2023.

This notice required the production of their evidence of plastic waste exports. In response, Qin sent a computer memory stick containing his business’ waste export evidence and a letter explaining a large discrepancy, described as an “overclaim.”

The letter stated that the company had carried out 1,239 metric tonnes of plastic waste exports in 2022, only 453.60 metric was genuine and that the majority of his trading, 785.40 metric tonnes was “a mistake.”

In sentencing, the judge said this was without doubt deliberate offending and pre-planned. There had been a significant undermining of the regulatory regime.

He accepted that there had been a guilty plea entered at first opportunity and that money had been put aside to repay the financial benefit made. The company was also fined to mark the seriousness of the offending.

— Accurate at time of publication | May 2025

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United States | Stone product manufacturer cited for exposing workers to respirable crystalline silica

U.S. Department of Labor | A U.S. Department of Labor follow-up inspection found that Art Stone-Granite and Marble Inc., a stone product manufacturer in Marietta, had failed to administer hearing conservation and respiratory protection programs identified previously on an April 2024 safety and health inspection.

 

Five months after the initial inspection, the department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) cited the company with two repeat violations and 13 serious violations for not providing workplace protections for employees exposed to hazards such as silica dust and occupational related noise.

The company will pay $120,000 in penalties, take action to correct the hazardous conditions, and put steps in place to prevent recurrence.

— Accurate at time of publication | May 2025

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United States | Richland farm labor contractor faces more than $1 million in fines

Washington State Department of Labor and Industries | A Richland company faces $1.25 million in fines for multiple violations of the state’s farm labor contractor law.

The Washington State Department of Labor and Industries (L and I) fined Pacific Agri Services LLC following an investigation that began in August 2024. This is the largest farm labor contractor fine L and I has ever issued.

The company was operating without a license and had not told nearly 5,000 workers in writing how much they’d be paid, what type of work they’d be doing, when and where they were going, how they would be housed, or how they would be transported. Without this information, workers are unable to assert their rights, especially foreign workers who may not otherwise know Washington’s workplace standards.

There are more than 250 licensed farm labor contractors in the state providing labor for agricultural employers. The contractors recruit, employ, and transport an estimated 50,000 domestic and foreign workers in Washington each year.

State law requires these contractors to pay at least minimum wage, provide safe transportation, and ensure meal and rest breaks for workers. The contractors are also required to provide disclosure forms that spell out a worker’s wages, the type of work they’ll be doing, when and where the work will take place, and explain benefits such as housing and transportation.

Pacific Agri Services initially failed to provide records required for a scheduled compliance review, and early in the investigation they denied operating as a farm labor contractor. When L and I finally received the required records, investigators found that the company had failed to furnish complete and up-to-date disclosure forms and transporting 4,950 domestic and 26 foreign H2-A workers in 2024.

That led to the largest portion of the fine in this case, $1.24 million. The agency also levied a $5,000 fine for operating without a farm labor contractor license, and a $1,000 fine for failure to maintain or produce required records. The company has appealed the violations.

— Accurate at time of publication | May 2025

Washington State Department of Labor and Industries | A Richland company faces $1.25 million in fines for multiple violations of the state’s farm labor contractor law.

The Washington State Department of Labor and Industries (L and I) fined Pacific Agri Services LLC following an investigation that began in August 2024. This is the largest farm labor contractor fine L and I has ever issued.

The company was operating without a license and had not told nearly 5,000 workers in writing how much they’d be paid, what type of work they’d be doing, when and where they were going, how they would be housed, or how they would be transported. Without this information, workers are unable to assert their rights, especially foreign workers who may not otherwise know Washington’s workplace standards.

There are more than 250 licensed farm labor contractors in the state providing labor for agricultural employers. The contractors recruit, employ, and transport an estimated 50,000 domestic and foreign workers in Washington each year.

State law requires these contractors to pay at least minimum wage, provide safe transportation, and ensure meal and rest breaks for workers. The contractors are also required to provide disclosure forms that spell out a worker’s wages, the type of work they’ll be doing, when and where the work will take place, and explain benefits such as housing and transportation.

Pacific Agri Services initially failed to provide records required for a scheduled compliance review, and early in the investigation they denied operating as a farm labor contractor. When L and I finally received the required records, investigators found that the company had failed to furnish complete and up-to-date disclosure forms and transporting 4,950 domestic and 26 foreign H2-A workers in 2024.

That led to the largest portion of the fine in this case, $1.24 million. The agency also levied a $5,000 fine for operating without a farm labor contractor license, and a $1,000 fine for failure to maintain or produce required records. The company has appealed the violations.

— Accurate at time of publication | May 2025

England | Car dealership fined after employees exposed to risks from vibrating tools

HSE | A car dealership franchise in Devon and Cornwall has been fined more than £200,000 after two of its workers were diagnosed with Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS).

 

The pair were diagnosed with the condition in November 2022 following repeated exposure to vibration from working for Rowes Garage Ltd at its bodyshop in Truro. They regularly used hand tools like random-orbital sanders and reciprocating saws for car body repairs.

Prolonged and regular exposure to vibration can affect a worker’s health resulting in painful and disabling disorders of the nerves, blood supply, joints and muscles of the hands and arms. These disorders are collectively known as HAVS and the risk of onset or worsening of it increases with daily exposure and varies widely between individuals.

One of the affected employees, who did not wish to be named, said: “It’s hard to say exactly how long I have had the symptoms for, but I think maybe about eight years. My fingers would go white and I’d lose feeling. This was particularly bad in damp or cold weather.

“I can say that over the years my symptoms seem to have got worse. The blanching has spread and I find it hard to pick up small items.”

The HSE investigation found that Rowes Garage had not put in place adequate management arrangements to assess and monitor the exposure of its employees to vibration. There was no suitable and sufficient risk assessment and control measures had not been implemented despite the likelihood of the exposure action value being exceeded.

Employees were not informed of the risk via information, instruction or training. Additionally, despite both employees reporting symptoms of ill health for a number of years, the company failed to take sufficient action to reduce their exposures.

Rowes Garage Ltd of Vertu House, Fifth Avenue Business Park, Gateshead, Tyne and Wear (since November 2023), pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The company was fined £204,000 and ordered to pay £8,099 in costs.

HSE inspector Emma O’Hara said: “Rowes Garage Ltd had been exposing employees to the risks arising from the use of vibrating tools for a significant period of time.

“They fell below expected standards which has been reflected in the fine that has been imposed. HAVS is a serious and disabling permanent condition and HSE will not hesitate to take action against employers that fall below the expected standard.”

The prosecution was brought by HSE enforcement lawyer Jonathan Bambro, and Paralegal Rebecca Forman.

— Accurate at time of publication | May 2025

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England | Water firm fined £1.4m for drinking water contamination

BBC News | A fine of £1.42m has been imposed on Anglican Water after failures led to flakes and powder entering people’s drinking water.

About 1.3m people in the East of England were affected by the negligence between June and December 2021. Environment Secretary Steve Reed said the problem was “scandalous and a complete disgrace”.

The water provider admitted five offences under the Water Supply (Water Quality) Regulations 2016 and was sentenced at Northampton Crown Court.

Anglian Water was investigated by the Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI), which found it had “poor oversight” of its supply chain and a lack of staff training.

The company, which apologised for the issues, also supplies customers in Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire and Rutland. It repeatedly used unapproved plastic-based products to coat pipework submerged within water tanks. These coatings later broke down into flakes and powder that entered the water supply.

“Contamination of drinking water on any scale is scandalous and a complete disgrace,” Reed said.

“The record £1.4m fine handed down sends a clear signal that this criminal behaviour is unacceptable.”

The DWI investigation found water tanks continued to be used even after Anglian Water knew they contained unapproved products. All of the issues across Anglian Water’s network have since been rectified.

Marcus Rink, DWI’s chief inspector, said: “Public health and drinking water quality must be the highest priority, and there can be no compromise.

“We’ve taken firm action in the public interest to ensure the company has removed all non-compliant material, so that customers can remain confident in their water supplies.”

An Anglian Water spokeswoman said it regretted “falling short” and apologised to customers.

“As a result, we have since invested significantly to improve these and have shared our learnings across the water industry,” she said.

“Protecting the water supply of our customers could not be more fundamental to our business.

“Despite the breach, there was no evidence of any contamination of the water supply and the judge agreed based on independent expert reports that the risk to customers was very low.”

— Accurate at time of publication | May 2025

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England | Airline fined over £3m for two falls from height incidents

HSE | British Airways has been fined more than £3million after two employees fell from height and sustained serious injuries.

 

The airline was prosecuted by the HSE following two separate incidents at Terminal 5 at Heathrow Airport.

On 25 August 2022, a 54-year-old employee had been unloading baggage containers from an aircraft when he slipped off a televator and landed 1.5 metres onto the ground below. He suffered serious back and head injuries, including a fractured vertebrae, as a result.

The HSE investigation found there were gaps between the televator’s guardrails and the aircraft fuselage, the size of which depended on the type of aircraft, creating the fall from height hazard. The gaps increased in size after the front of the televators’ platforms at Terminal 5 were extended – but additional measures to prevent falls from height had not been implemented.

At the time of the incident, British Airways had started a programme to retrofit extendable guardrails to televators in response to previous HSE visits. This was completed following the incident.

Second incident 

In the second incident a British Airways worker sustained head injuries, including a fractured jaw and bleeding on the brain, on 8 March 2023, while unloading baggage containers from an aircraft following its arrival from Seattle. The 43-year-old fell from an elevator and landed three metres onto the ground below.

Both employees were taken to hospital for treatment and had to take several months off work.

The HSE investigation into this incident identified a risk of employees falling from height from the front of the elevator platforms when they were being used during loading and unloading of some aircraft types. Flaps on either side of the platform would be left folded down leaving a gap between the platform and aircraft fuselage.

It also found that the elevator’s operator platform had not been fully extended towards the aircraft, creating a gap which employees could fall through.

British Airways PLC, of Waterside, Speedbird Way, Harmondsworth, Greater London, pleaded guilty to two charges under Regulation 6(3) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005.

The company was fined £1.33million in relation to the August 2022 incident, and £1.875million in relation to the March 2023 incident. The company was also ordered to pay £20,935 in costs.

HSE enforcement lawyer Rebecca Schwartz, who brought the prosecution, said: “Falls from height present a real risk of death or serious, life-changing injury. Both employees are fortunate to be alive today.

“The risks of working at height and the necessary control measures are well established – in these cases adequate guardrails would have significantly reduced the risk of harm. This was a reasonably foreseeable risk that British Airways should have been aware of and therefore it should have done more to protect its employees.”

Moving baggage between an aircraft and the luggage carousel in the terminal building is dynamic and time-pressured. It therefore comes with a range of risks to baggage handlers. Several HSE inspections have taken place at Heathrow Airport, identifying risks with manual handling and maintenance of equipment as well as falls from height. Airlines and ground handling companies have needed to take action as a result of these visits.

This HSE prosecution was supported by HSE paralegal officer Melissa Wardle.

— Accurate at time of publication | May 2025

HSE | British Airways has been fined more than £3million after two employees fell from height and sustained serious injuries.

 

The airline was prosecuted by the HSE following two separate incidents at Terminal 5 at Heathrow Airport.

On 25 August 2022, a 54-year-old employee had been unloading baggage containers from an aircraft when he slipped off a televator and landed 1.5 metres onto the ground below. He suffered serious back and head injuries, including a fractured vertebrae, as a result.

The HSE investigation found there were gaps between the televator’s guardrails and the aircraft fuselage, the size of which depended on the type of aircraft, creating the fall from height hazard. The gaps increased in size after the front of the televators’ platforms at Terminal 5 were extended – but additional measures to prevent falls from height had not been implemented.

At the time of the incident, British Airways had started a programme to retrofit extendable guardrails to televators in response to previous HSE visits. This was completed following the incident.

Second incident 

In the second incident a British Airways worker sustained head injuries, including a fractured jaw and bleeding on the brain, on 8 March 2023, while unloading baggage containers from an aircraft following its arrival from Seattle. The 43-year-old fell from an elevator and landed three metres onto the ground below.

Both employees were taken to hospital for treatment and had to take several months off work.

The HSE investigation into this incident identified a risk of employees falling from height from the front of the elevator platforms when they were being used during loading and unloading of some aircraft types. Flaps on either side of the platform would be left folded down leaving a gap between the platform and aircraft fuselage.

It also found that the elevator’s operator platform had not been fully extended towards the aircraft, creating a gap which employees could fall through.

British Airways PLC, of Waterside, Speedbird Way, Harmondsworth, Greater London, pleaded guilty to two charges under Regulation 6(3) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005.

The company was fined £1.33million in relation to the August 2022 incident, and £1.875million in relation to the March 2023 incident. The company was also ordered to pay £20,935 in costs.

HSE enforcement lawyer Rebecca Schwartz, who brought the prosecution, said: “Falls from height present a real risk of death or serious, life-changing injury. Both employees are fortunate to be alive today.

“The risks of working at height and the necessary control measures are well established – in these cases adequate guardrails would have significantly reduced the risk of harm. This was a reasonably foreseeable risk that British Airways should have been aware of and therefore it should have done more to protect its employees.”

Moving baggage between an aircraft and the luggage carousel in the terminal building is dynamic and time-pressured. It therefore comes with a range of risks to baggage handlers. Several HSE inspections have taken place at Heathrow Airport, identifying risks with manual handling and maintenance of equipment as well as falls from height. Airlines and ground handling companies have needed to take action as a result of these visits.

This HSE prosecution was supported by HSE paralegal officer Melissa Wardle.

— Accurate at time of publication | May 2025

Canada | Regina company fined $575,000 for workplace injury

Ministry of Labour Relations and Workplace Safety | Evraz Inc. NA Canada has pleaded guilty in Regina Provincial Court to one violation of The Occupational Health and Safety Regulations, 2020.

The company was fined for contravening clause 10-4 (1) (a) of the regulations (being an employer, failing to provide an effective safeguard when a worker may contact a dangerous moving part of a machine, resulting in the serious injury of a worker).

As a result, the Court imposed a fine of $410,714.29 with a surcharge of $164,285.71, for a total amount of $575,000.

One other charge was withdrawn.

The charges stemmed from an incident that occurred on 4 December 2022, in Regina, Saskatchewan when a worker suffered serious injuries while inspecting the underside of sheet metal as it was being mechanically moved through the metal slitting machine.

— Accurate at time of publication | May 2025

Ministry of Labour Relations and Workplace Safety | Evraz Inc. NA Canada has pleaded guilty in Regina Provincial Court to one violation of The Occupational Health and Safety Regulations, 2020.

The company was fined for contravening clause 10-4 (1) (a) of the regulations (being an employer, failing to provide an effective safeguard when a worker may contact a dangerous moving part of a machine, resulting in the serious injury of a worker).

As a result, the Court imposed a fine of $410,714.29 with a surcharge of $164,285.71, for a total amount of $575,000.

One other charge was withdrawn.

The charges stemmed from an incident that occurred on 4 December 2022, in Regina, Saskatchewan when a worker suffered serious injuries while inspecting the underside of sheet metal as it was being mechanically moved through the metal slitting machine.

— Accurate at time of publication | May 2025

Australia | Concrete manufacturer fined $580,000 over worker injury

Government of Western Australia | A concrete manufacturing company has been fined $580,000 (and ordered to pay $6,180 in costs) after a worker was seriously injured at its Neerabup concrete batching plant.

Ransberg Pty Ltd, trading as WA Premix, pleaded guilty to failing to provide and maintain a safe workplace and, by that failure, causing serious harm to a worker, and was fined in the Joondalup Magistrates Court.

In December 2020, a worker at the plant suffered serious harm when a large waste pit gate fell onto him.

Waste products from the concrete mixing process are deposited into waste pits that are regularly drained and emptied.

These steel and concrete waste pits are four-walled boxes three metres wide by one point five metres high with a removable front wall weighing around two tonnes known as the waste pit gate.

The waste pit gate is held in place by four wedge pins that lock into fittings on the side wall of the pit. These pins were knocked out with a mallet once the gate was secured by a lifting chain attached to a raised front-end loader bucket.

The pit gate was then lifted by the front-end loader and stored safely beside the waste pits.

The emptying of the waste pits was considered to be a two-person job, but it was done by one person if no other workers were available.

On the morning of the incident, the injured worker knocked out three of the four wedge pins and went to retrieve the lifting chain. He could not find the chain and returned to the waste pit gate and knocked out the remaining wedge pin.

The gate then fell forward, hitting the worker first in the chest then continuing forward to strike his left leg above the knee, then his shin and ankle. He suffered multiple open fractures and other injuries that ultimately resulted in the amputation of his left leg below the knee.

There was no supporting mechanism in place to prevent the gate from falling if the lifting chains were not attached to the front-end loader bucket.

Ransberg did have other batching plants, and at another batching plant the waste pit gate was supported by a “c channel.” This method of supporting the waste pit gate was known to Ransberg at the time of this incident.

— Accurate at time of publication | May 2025

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Scotland | Cambuslang waste carrier given £1,000 penalty for falsifying authorisation

SEPA | Scotland’s environmental regulator is reminding waste carriers of the serious consequences for forging records after serving a £1,000 civil penalty to a man who provided a waste transfer notice with false information.

 

Calum Morton of Cambuslang was served the Fixed Monetary Penalty (FMP) by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) after the regulator found they had falsely claimed to be a registered waste carrier and provided false information about a waste deposit.

Waste transfer notices ensure that there is a clear audit trail from when waste is produced until disposal, providing an accurate record that enables regulators to track waste movements and check waste has been handled legally.

A waste transfer notice should provide essential information on the type and quantity of waste, where it originated from, and where it will be disposed of or treated. Any person who produces, keeps, or manages controlled waste or has control of it as a broker or dealer, or carriers must complete accurate waste transfer notes and make them available on request.

In May 2023, South Lanarkshire Council provided SEPA with a waste transfer notice identifying Mr. Morton as a registered waste carrier and detailing the collection and transport of waste from The Tudor Inn, Cambuslang, to the NWH Group waste management facility, Glasgow.

Witness statements collected from the Council and NWH Group certified that Mr. Morton had not deposited nor paid for the deposit of waste at the location, while checks of SEPA’s own records indicated that Mr. Morton was not registered as a waste carrier on the date stated on the waste transfer notice.

Under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, it is an offence for any person to make a statement which he knows to be false or misleading with respect to licences and an FMP was deemed appropriate enforcement action in this case.

SEPA can issue FMPs for relevant offences. FMPs are normally appropriate where an offence has not caused environmental harm or has caused minimal environmental harm with no lasting environmental effects or impacts on communities, for administrative offences and where little (if any) financial benefit arises from the offence.

— Accurate at time of publication | April 2025

SEPA | Scotland’s environmental regulator is reminding waste carriers of the serious consequences for forging records after serving a £1,000 civil penalty to a man who provided a waste transfer notice with false information.

 

Calum Morton of Cambuslang was served the Fixed Monetary Penalty (FMP) by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) after the regulator found they had falsely claimed to be a registered waste carrier and provided false information about a waste deposit.

Waste transfer notices ensure that there is a clear audit trail from when waste is produced until disposal, providing an accurate record that enables regulators to track waste movements and check waste has been handled legally.

A waste transfer notice should provide essential information on the type and quantity of waste, where it originated from, and where it will be disposed of or treated. Any person who produces, keeps, or manages controlled waste or has control of it as a broker or dealer, or carriers must complete accurate waste transfer notes and make them available on request.

In May 2023, South Lanarkshire Council provided SEPA with a waste transfer notice identifying Mr. Morton as a registered waste carrier and detailing the collection and transport of waste from The Tudor Inn, Cambuslang, to the NWH Group waste management facility, Glasgow.

Witness statements collected from the Council and NWH Group certified that Mr. Morton had not deposited nor paid for the deposit of waste at the location, while checks of SEPA’s own records indicated that Mr. Morton was not registered as a waste carrier on the date stated on the waste transfer notice.

Under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, it is an offence for any person to make a statement which he knows to be false or misleading with respect to licences and an FMP was deemed appropriate enforcement action in this case.

SEPA can issue FMPs for relevant offences. FMPs are normally appropriate where an offence has not caused environmental harm or has caused minimal environmental harm with no lasting environmental effects or impacts on communities, for administrative offences and where little (if any) financial benefit arises from the offence.

— Accurate at time of publication | April 2025

England | Worker’s fatal fall on job planned from photographs

HSE | A cladding company and its director have been fined following the death of a worker who fell through a fragile roof whilst replacing cladding panels.

 

The 61-year-old was working for Camclad Contractors Limited, replacing cladding panels on a former abattoir that had been damaged in a storm, when the incident took place at Gaerwen Industrial Estate, Anglesey, on 24 January 2018.

An investigation by the HSE found that the work had only been planned from photographs and that no site visit had taken place before starting the work. The dimensions of the building were not known to the contractor. This meant the cherry picker hired to allow safe access to height did not reach all parts of the structure that were to be repaired.

To complete the work, workers had to leave the safety of the cherry picker basket and used boards found on site to work on the fragile roof. It was whilst doing this that slipped and fell through the fragile roof, landing on the concrete floor below.

Camclad Contractors Limited of Wyboston Lakes, Great North Road, Wyboston, Bedfordshire pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 4(1) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 and was fined £225,000 with costs of £10,000.

A director of the company, Dominic Lakeman-Pettit also of Great North Road, Wyboston, Bedfordshire pleaded guilty to breaching section 37(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and was sentenced to four months in prison suspended for 12 months and ordered to carry out 200 hours unpaid work. He was also ordered to pay costs of £1,000.

Speaking after the case, HSE principal inspector Damian Corbett said: “Those in control of work have a responsibility to devise safe methods of working and to provide the necessary information and instruction to their workers in the safe system of working.

“If the work had been adequately planned, it would have provided a suitable safe system of work and prevented the risk of falls through fragile materials. Companies should be aware that HSE will not hesitate to take appropriate enforcement action against those who fall below the required standards.”

— Accurate at time of publication | May 2025

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England | Firm fined more than £500,000 after shift worker fell to his death

HSE | A North Yorkshire company has been fined more than half a million pounds after a night shift worker fell to his death.

Mark Pinder, 51, was working for East Riding Sacks Ltd, a manufacturer of paper sacks, at its site in Stamford Bridge, near York, when the incident happened on 11 February 2023.

Mr Pinder, from York, had been operating one of the production lines when a blockage occurred on the upper deck of the machinery. After identifying the cause, he attempted to remove the blockage. He had been standing on the stationery metal rollers when his colleagues witnessed part of the machine being activated. Mr Pinder was struck by the machine which caused him to lose his footing.

He fell approximately three metres from the unguarded edge of the metal rollers to the factory floor below. Although paramedics were called to the factory, he died at the scene as a result of his injuries.

The HSE’s investigation found that East Riding Sacks Ltd failed to provide a robust safe system of work. This related to the isolation of the sack making line and the removal of blockages. They also failed to identify the risk from a fall from height and implement appropriate measures.

Falls from height remains one of the leading causes of workplace injury and death and HSE has detailed guidance on working safely at height.

The HSE investigation also found that workers routinely cleared blockages themselves, relying solely on the interlock guarding to stop the machine, even though they had not been adequately trained in isolation or blockage removal procedures. In addition, workers were using the conveyor belt as a shortcut between gantries, often climbing over the handrails onto the equipment rather than down the stairs and walking around. Management were unaware of this practice.

East Riding Sacks Ltd, of Full Sutton Industrial Estate, Stamford Bridge, Full Sutton, York, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 . The company was fined £533,000 and ordered to pay £6,066 in costs.

HSE inspector Elliot Archer said: “Every year, a significant proportion of accidents, many of them serious and often fatal, occur as a result of people accessing dangerous parts of machinery and working at height.

“Where access beyond machinery guarding and safety devices is required for the removal of blockages, robust isolation procedures to remove all sources of power should be implemented alongside a suitable safe systems of work.

“Had these been in place, and the recognition of work at height being undertaken been flagged by the company, with appropriate controls implemented, this incident would have been avoidable.”

This HSE prosecution was brought by HSE enforcement lawyer Karen Park and paralegal officer Lucy Gallagher.

— Accurate at time of publication | May 2025

HSE | A North Yorkshire company has been fined more than half a million pounds after a night shift worker fell to his death.

Mark Pinder, 51, was working for East Riding Sacks Ltd, a manufacturer of paper sacks, at its site in Stamford Bridge, near York, when the incident happened on 11 February 2023.

Mr Pinder, from York, had been operating one of the production lines when a blockage occurred on the upper deck of the machinery. After identifying the cause, he attempted to remove the blockage. He had been standing on the stationery metal rollers when his colleagues witnessed part of the machine being activated. Mr Pinder was struck by the machine which caused him to lose his footing.

He fell approximately three metres from the unguarded edge of the metal rollers to the factory floor below. Although paramedics were called to the factory, he died at the scene as a result of his injuries.

The HSE’s investigation found that East Riding Sacks Ltd failed to provide a robust safe system of work. This related to the isolation of the sack making line and the removal of blockages. They also failed to identify the risk from a fall from height and implement appropriate measures.

Falls from height remains one of the leading causes of workplace injury and death and HSE has detailed guidance on working safely at height.

The HSE investigation also found that workers routinely cleared blockages themselves, relying solely on the interlock guarding to stop the machine, even though they had not been adequately trained in isolation or blockage removal procedures. In addition, workers were using the conveyor belt as a shortcut between gantries, often climbing over the handrails onto the equipment rather than down the stairs and walking around. Management were unaware of this practice.

East Riding Sacks Ltd, of Full Sutton Industrial Estate, Stamford Bridge, Full Sutton, York, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 . The company was fined £533,000 and ordered to pay £6,066 in costs.

HSE inspector Elliot Archer said: “Every year, a significant proportion of accidents, many of them serious and often fatal, occur as a result of people accessing dangerous parts of machinery and working at height.

“Where access beyond machinery guarding and safety devices is required for the removal of blockages, robust isolation procedures to remove all sources of power should be implemented alongside a suitable safe systems of work.

“Had these been in place, and the recognition of work at height being undertaken been flagged by the company, with appropriate controls implemented, this incident would have been avoidable.”

This HSE prosecution was brought by HSE enforcement lawyer Karen Park and paralegal officer Lucy Gallagher.

— Accurate at time of publication | May 2025

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