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Firm fined £120k after builders lifted in digger’s bucket

A building firm has been fined for a catalogue of health and safety failings that included two builders being lifted into the air by a raised excavator bucket.

A photograph caught the moment a pair of workers stood in the bucket of a digger to fit a stone into the top of a new home in Littleborough, Greater Manchester.

It was one of a number of health and safety failings found during construction work at The Villas development on Starring Road in Littleborough.

HSE inspectors visited the housing development on 7 July 2021 and issued Hoyle Developments Limited, the site’s principal contractor, with a Prohibition Notice for inadequate scaffolding and Improvement Notices for a lack of welfare facilities and insecure fencing.

HSE inspectors had visited the same housing development site four times between November 2018 and August 2021. Repeated breaches were found including a lack of sufficient welfare, unsuitable controls for work at height and inadequate protection from silica dust exposure. Hoyle Developments Limited was served with multiple Notifications of Contraventions, Prohibition Notices and Improvement Notices.

Hoyle Developments Limited, of Edenfield Road, Rochdale pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The company was fined £120,000 and ordered to pay £3,165.15 in costs.

HSE inspector Mike Lisle said: “This proactive prosecution demonstrates that HSE will not hesitate to take proactive enforcement action against those that continuously fall below the required standards and demonstrate persistent poor health and safety. Health and safety should be an integral part of any business, not an afterthought, and having a clear health and safety policy and construction phase plan in place, before work commences, can assist with ensuring this.”

This is valid as of 6th February 2023.

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Making flexible working the default – government response to consultation

The government has published its response to a consultation that ran between July and September this year on proposals to reform flexible working regulations. This consultation confirms the government’s intention to introduce changes to the right to request flexible working legislation.

This right currently supports all employees with 26 weeks continuous service to make applications to change their work location, working hours and/or working pattern.

The response states that the government will take forward the following measures:

•  Make the right to request flexible working a day one right.

•  Introduce a new requirement for employees to consult with the employee when they intend to reject their flexible working request.

•  Allow 2 statutory requests in any 12-month period (rather than the current one).

•  Require a decision period of 2 months in respect of a statutory flexible working request (rather than the current three).

•  Remove the existing requirement that the employee must explain what effect, if any, the change applied for would have on the employer and how that effect might be dealt with.

The response also commits to:

•  Developing guidance to raise awareness and understanding of how to make and administer temporary requests for flexible working.

•  Launching a call for evidence to better understand how informal flexible working operates in practice.

The document includes a summary of the responses received from individuals and stakeholders. The proposed changes to the right to request flexible working received broad support across the range of respondents, including individuals, businesses, charities, and trade unions.

The government says that it recognises that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to work arrangements and has been clear that the legislation should remain a ‘right to request’, not a ‘right to have’. The priority is to set the right conditions to allow employees and employers to explore the available options in their particular context.

Responses

There was a total of 1,611 responses received to this consultation. The majority of respondents were individuals – 1,342 in total (83%). In terms of responses from business, government received:

•  56 from large businesses.

•  25 from medium businesses.

•  14 from small businesses.

•  19 from micro businesses.

•  30 from business representative organisations.

The other main sub-groups were:

•  Charities or campaign groups.

•  Academics, think tanks or advisory groups.

•  Consultancies or professional bodies.

This is valid as of 12th November 2022.

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Every school will have a life-saving defibrillator by 2022/2023

State-funded schools across England will receive defibrillators under new government plans to make sure there is a device in every school, boosting their numbers in communities across the country.

Defibrillators have the potential to save the lives of pupils, staff, and visitors in schools, with latest research showing that accessing these devices within 3-5 minutes of a cardiac arrest increases the chance of survival by over 40%.

The announcement comes after the government first committed last year to look at how to achieve a defibrillator on every school site, following a meeting with the Oliver King Foundation, supported by ex-footballer Jamie Carragher, which has worked to raise awareness of this issue.

A survey will soon go out to all state-funded schools to finalise the number of devices that will need to be procured, which is estimated to be over 20,000. The government has committed to funding all necessary devices so that every school has at least one on-site, or more for schools with larger sites.

The rollout will build on existing requirements for schools to teach first aid as part of the curriculum, with secondary school pupils being taught life-saving methods such as CPR and the purpose of defibrillators.

Education Secretary James Cleverly said: “Access to funding must not stand in the way of every school having on-site access to a life-saving defibrillator. The evidence clearly shows that defibrillators drastically increase the chance of survival from a cardiac arrest, and it’s particularly important that they are available close to sports halls and playing fields that children, young people, and the wider community use on a daily basis.”

Further details of the rollout and device specification are set to be confirmed in the autumn term.

This is valid as of 3rd August 2022.

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Firework importer sentenced for safety failures

An imports company has been fined £39,000 by a court after fireworks wrongly labelled with a safety mark were found on sale in Scarborough.

North Yorkshire Trading Standards officers conducted the prosecution against a Chester-based company, Fast Line Imports Limited, which pleaded guilty to three offences under the Pyrotechnic Articles (Safety) Regulations 2015 Act.

In addition to the fine, the company also faces costs of £2,245.

The CE mark is used to confirm that goods comply with safety regulations.

Trading standards officers submitted the ‘throwdown’ type fireworks for tests after they were seized in Scarborough, and those checks confirmed they contained an unknown explosive ingredient, not the one listed on the label, and also exceeded noise limits.

The company had failed to follow a conformity assessment procedure to show the product was safe before they sold it, which is require in law.

Despite that, the product was marked with the CE safety mark, which should only be applied once the conformity assessment procedure has been passed.

Trading standards officers issued a suspension notice preventing the product from being sold or supplied but the company failed to tell officers which wholesalers it had previously distributed the product to, meaning a complete withdrawal from sale could not happen.

Magistrates who heard the case said: “It beggars belief that you failed to co-operate with trading standards.”

They also considered that the product “presented a significant risk”.

Executive member for trading standards, Cllr Derek Bastiman, said: “A business that imports fireworks into the UK bears responsibility for ensuring that they are safe and meet safety and labelling standards.

“This company did not complete the appropriate steps to check the throwdowns were safe and then failed to assist the council’s officers in removing the product from the market.

“This is disappointing and irresponsible and the court recognised that in the sentence it passed.”

This is valid as of 7th July 2022.

Croydon tram crash: TfL to admit to failings over fatal derailment

Transport for London (TfL) has indicated it will plead guilty to health and safety failings over the Croydon tram crash.

Seven passengers died and 61 were injured when a tram derailed in south London on 9 November 2016. Driver Alfred Dorris, 48, of Beckenham, also appeared at the recent hearing at Croydon Magistrates’ Court (10 June).

He indicated a not guilty plea to an allegation of failing as an employee to take reasonable care of passengers.

The crash resulted in the deaths of Dane Chinnery, 19, Philip Logan, 52, Philip Seary, 57, Dorota Rynkiewicz, 35, and Robert Huxley, 63, all from New Addington, and Mark Smith, 35, and Donald Collett, 62, who were both from Croydon.

Nineteen of the 61 people hurt in the derailment suffered serious injuries.

Prosecutions against TfL, Mr Dorris and Tram Operations Limited (TOL) are being brought by regulator the Office of Rail and Road (ORR). TOL also indicated it will plead guilty to health and safety failings.

District Judge Nigel Dean released Mr Dorris on unconditional bail ahead of the next hearing at Croydon Crown Court on 8 July.

Following the hearing, TfL said its indication of a guilty plea would enable court proceedings to “come to a conclusion as promptly as possible”.

Andy Lord, TfL’s chief operating officer, said: “The Sandilands tragedy will never be forgotten and our thoughts remain with everyone affected.

“We have worked closely with the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) and the ORR since November 2016 to introduce a new safety regime and implement all the recommendations from the organisations across the tram network.

“This has made the network safer for everyone and we continue to work tirelessly to ensure that such a tragedy could never occur again.”

Chief inspector of railways, Ian Prosser, explained the ORR had conducted an “extensive, detailed and thorough investigation” into the crash.

“The matter has now been sent to the Crown Court for a pre-trial hearing to case manage and list future hearings,” he said.

This is valid as of 21st June 2022.

Transport company fined £850,000 for failings that led to man’s death

A Leeds-based company has been fined £850,000 after an employee sustained fatal injuries while undergoing training.

Hermes Parcelnet Limited pled guilty to health and safety breaches committed between 1 August 2018 and 19 March 2019 at Hamilton Sheriff Court.

The court heard that at around 10.15pm on 19 March 2019 at the company’s Eurocentral depot, David Kennedy sustained crush injuries while undergoing training on the operation of a trailer mover.

Mr. Kennedy was struck in the chest by the tiller head of the mover and pinned against a stationary trailer while using it to reposition a laden articulated trailer within the depot yard.

The 43-year-old was taken to hospital but died of his injuries two days later.

The HSE investigation found that the company failed to ensure that their in-house trainer at Eurocentral was given enough instruction on how training should be delivered. No one on-site monitored whether the appropriate training was taking place.

The company’s training plan set out that towing a trailer should not take place until the second hour of the training. Mr. Kennedy started his practical training around 30 minutes before the incident occurred. ln that time he was already involved in moving a laden trailer with the mover.

The company also failed to ensure that the trainer used two trained banksmen at all relevant times in the course of training. The trainer was at times in a position where it is unlikely that he would have been able to see and correct any mistakes.

Soon after the incident, the company removed all trailer movers from service across its UK sites.

Alistair Duncan, Head of the Health and Safety Investigation Unit of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, said: “David Kennedy lost his life in circumstances which were foreseeable and entirely avoidable. By failing to identify the risks arising from providing training to employees in the operation of a trailer mover Hermes Parcelnet Limited put their employees at unacceptable risk.

“This prosecution should remind other employers that failing to keep their employees safe can have fatal consequences and they will be held accountable for this failure. Our thoughts are with Mr Kennedy’s family at this difficult time.”

This is valid as of 20th June 2022.

Letting company and its director fined for gas safety failings

A letting agent company and its director have been fined for failing to carry out essential safety checks on gas appliances in their rental property.

The landlord, Belleview Property Limited (Belleview), failed to carry out the annual gas safety check at their rental property in Colchester, Essex. Belleview were served with an Improvement Notice requiring the checks to be carried out, but they failed to do within the specified timeframe.

They also failed to provide details of the tenancy agreement when requested to do so by a HSE inspector using her powers under Section 20 of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.  The investigation found that Belleview’s failures were committed with the consent of, or were attributable to neglect on the part of, Adrian Ellis, as the sole director of Belleview.

Adrian Ellis had previously been prosecuted by the HSE for failing to undertake gas safety checks at properties owned and rented out by him as an individual. Belleview had also been subject to HSE enforcement twice in the last five years relating to its failure to arrange gas safety checks at properties rented out by it, including the property subject to the current case.

Belleview Property Limited of Station Road, St Ives, pleaded guilty to breaching the Gas Safety Installation and Use Regulations 1998, Regulation 36(3) and failing to comply with the requirement to provide information under Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, Section 20. It was fined £12,000 with £2,245.28 in costs.

Director Adrian Ellis of Leech’s Lane, Colchester, Essex pleaded guilty to breaching Section 37(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and was fined £3,000 with £2,245.28 costs.

Each defendant was ordered to pay a further £170 as a government surcharge.

After the hearing HSE inspector Jessica Churchyard said: “Landlords must ensure gas appliances at their tenanted properties are maintained in a safe condition and are checked by a Gas Safe Register engineer at least every 12 months.

“HSE will not hesitate to take appropriate enforcement action against those that fall below the required standards.”

This is valid as of 23rd March 2022.

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Oil company fined following liquid petroleum gas leak

The operator of the UK’s largest oil refinery has been fined for health and safety breaches after a leak of liquid petroleum gas (LPG) was discovered by a worker cycling home at the end of their shift.

On 15th November 2015, there was an uncontrolled release of around 15 tonnes of LPG through a valve near to the main roadway used by LPG road tankers visiting Esso Petroleum Company’s refinery in Fawley, Hampshire.

The leak went undetected for around four hours before being discovered by an employee on his way home. It took a further hour to establish the source of the leak, with on-site emergency personnel having to enter the area to reset the valve.

An investigation by the HSE found that the leak occurred because LPG was put through the pipe work at too a high a pressure for the valve. There was no process in place to detect the discrepancy in the flow in the pipe and the company had failed to take all measures necessary to prevent a major incident.

Esso Petroleum Company Limited pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 5(1) of The Control of Major Accident Hazards Regulations (COMAH) 2015 and was fined £500,000.

Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector, Jonathan Halewood said: “The measures required to prevent incidents should be proportionate to the risks. Where companies handle large quantities of substances that can cause major incidents, such as LPG, they are required to have layers of protection in place to prevent incidents.

“In this incident, a number of those layers either failed or were not in place resulting in a significant leak. Even though there was no fire or injury on this occasion, there was potential for a major incident. The prosecution has been brought to highlight the importance of maintaining the layers of protection and preventing this kind of major leak.”

This is valid as of 16th December 2021.

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Government preparedness for the COVID-19 Pandemic: Lessons for government on risk

In July 2020, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) made its first report on the UK Government’s broad, initial response to the COVID-19 pandemic, saying there had been an “astonishing” failure to plan appropriately especially in relation to the national economy, where it was revealed in evidence to the Committee that there had really been “no specific plan” at all.

The Committee has since reported on Government failures in balancing risk across many aspects of its response to the pandemic, and lack of planning and preparedness despite an influenza pandemic having been identified as the UK’s top non-malicious risk on government’s National Risk Register since 2008.

This follow up inquiry is based on the NAO’s recent findings that Government was not fully prepared for the wide-ranging impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on society, the economy and essential public services, and did not act upon some warnings from the simulations carried out prior to COVID-19, which highlighted issues around planning, coordination and capability that apply to pandemics more broadly.

For example, PAC says that the Government lacked detailed plans on shielding, employment support schemes and managing the disruption to schooling. Departments’ pandemic plans and business continuity plans set out some, but not all, of the responses required to maintain operations during the pandemic.

Preparations for EU exit enhanced the crisis capabilities and risk planning of some departments but meant that government paused work on other emergency preparations, limiting its ability to focus on other risk and contingency planning at the same time.

During this inquiry, the Committee will question senior officials at DHSC and the Cabinet Office. The inquiry is currently accepting evidence. The Committee is inviting views, and welcome submissions from anyone with answers to the questions in the call for evidence. Evidence may be submitted until 5 January 2022.

This is valid as of 6th December 2021.

Fine after employee crushed in industrial cooking machine

A Lincolnshire-based food manufacturer has been fined after one of its employees sustained two broken ribs having been crushed within an industrial cooking machine whilst working to clear a blocked water inlet.

The employee of Bakkavor Fresh Cook Ltd was crushed in the machine after its safety systems were over-ridden and the machine worked on whilst it was live. It should have been isolated before work on it began.

Investigating, the HSE found that the task was carried out by the employees in this fashion on a regular basis and that the company should have been aware.  No risk assessment of the task had been completed and employees had not been provided with a safe system of work to carry it out. The lack of a safe system of work for the task and the company’s failure to monitor how the work was done, led employees to devise their own way of conducting the procedure which included over-riding the safety systems and using unsafe working practices.

Bakkavor Fresh Cook Ltd of Sluice Road, Holbeach St Marks Spalding, pleaded guilty of one breach of Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and were fined £130,000 and ordered to pay costs of £2607.10.

At the end of the trial HSE inspector Tim Nicholson commented: “Those in control of work have a responsibility to devise safe methods of working and to provide the necessary information, instruction and training to their workers.  If a suitable safe system of work had been in place prior to this incident, alongside good monitoring of the way the work was done, the injuries sustained by the employee could have been prevented.”

This is valid as of 26th October 2021.

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Scientists advise office CO2 monitoring to help manage COVID-19 risk

As more UK workers and students return to offices and schools, a new paper published in the Indoor and Built Environment journal details a new model that has been developed to predict the risk of airborne COVID-19 infection in such environments.

The model – developed by researchers at Imperial College London, the University of Cambridge and University of Leeds, and jointly funded by the PROTECT COVID-19 National Core Study and UK Research and Innovation – uses monitored CO2 and occupancy data to predict how many workers are likely to be infected by an asymptomatic but infectious colleague.

High indoor CO2 levels are related to lower ventilation rates and high occupancy, so monitoring them can provide an important red flag to building managers to identify areas of inadequate ventilation. This can help assess the risk of airborne transmission of the COVID-19 virus. Achievable interventions can then be made, for instance, to improve ventilation or change worker attendance patterns to reduce occupancy.

While applications of the infection model so far have demonstrated that most workers in well ventilated open plan offices are unlikely to infect each other via airborne particles, the risk becomes greater if the space is poorly ventilated or if the workers are involved in activities which require more speaking. For instance, the model predicts each infected person could infect two to four others in an adequately ventilated but noisy call centre. Risks are also likely to increase if the infected individual is a ‘super spreader’.

Dr Henry Burridge, Senior Lecturer in Fluid Mechanics at Imperial College London and lead author of the paper, said: “In shared spaces such as offices and classrooms, exposure to infectious airborne matter builds up over time, during which room occupancy may vary. By using carbon dioxide levels as a proxy for exhaled breath, our new model can assess the variable exposure risk as people come and go.

“Our work emphasises the importance of good ventilation in workplaces and in schools. The model demonstrates that by managing the ventilation and occupancy levels of shared spaces we can manage the risk of airborne infection by a virus such as that which causes COVID-19.”

Professor Andrew Curran, Chief Scientific Adviser at the Health and Safety Executive and lead for the PROTECT study, added: “This important research demonstrates that, while the airborne transmission route can be a significant contributor to COVID-19 infection risk in places such as offices and schools, there are achievable steps that can be taken to reduce this risk and help facilitate a safe return. Ensuring adequate ventilation is a key element, and the appropriate use of tools such as CO2 monitoring can give building managers a much better understanding of their own ventilation systems and how they are performing for each activity undertaken in the space.

“However, the airborne route is just one of three known routes of transmission of the COVID-19 virus. Close-range person-to-person and surface transmission risks must also be assessed, and relevant measures applied to control all routes of exposure for all activities where risk is identified. For most businesses, a COVID-19 control strategy will involve a blended combination of measures identified through a risk assessment – there is no silver bullet.”

Professor Charlotte Deane, UKRI Director for the COVID-19 Response and Deputy Executive Chair of the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, said: “A key challenge throughout the pandemic has been to understand how this novel virus is transmitted and to develop measures which could be implemented to curb the spread of infection. This study highlights that research and innovation supported by UKRI and the National Core Studies programme is continuing to evolve our understanding of the virus and helping us to develop knowledge which will be key to the global post-pandemic recovery.”

The full paper can be found here.

This is valid as of 25th October 2021.

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