A roofing firm has been fined, and its director has received a suspended prison sentence for putting the lives of workers at risk.
No Scaffolding Or Edge Protection To Roof
Weather Master Roofing Limited and its 20-year-old company director, Jack Avanzo, also known as Jack Avenzo, were sentenced last week following a prosecution by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). An HSE investigation found that workers were operating without scaffolding or edge protection on the roof of a house in Dorking on February 21, 2023. This put the workers at risk of falling from height, and there were no measures in place to mitigate a fall. Additionally, workers were observed using their phone lights and torches while working on the property at night, under the control of Avanzo and his company.
Improvement Notice Ignored
The HSE served Weather Master Roofing Limited with an improvement notice on February 28, 2023, requiring the company to improve its planning, execution, supervision, and monitoring of roof work. However, the company failed to comply with the notice.
Fine Plus Suspended Prison Sentence
During a sentencing hearing at Brighton Magistrates' Court, Weather Master Roofing Limited pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 4(1) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 and Sections 33(1)(c) and 33(1)(g) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The company was fined £4,000 and ordered to pay £1,500 in costs, as well as a victim surcharge of £1,600. Jack Avanzo also pleaded guilty to the same breaches and was handed a six-month prison sentence, suspended for two years. He was ordered to complete 120 hours of unpaid work and disqualified from being a director for three years, and he was also ordered to pay £1,500 in costs.
"No excuse for putting workers' lives at risk" - HSE
HSE Inspector Stephanie Hickford-Smith stated, "Falls from height are still the single biggest cause of work-related deaths in Great Britain. The law is clear: suitable and sufficient measures must be taken to prevent, where reasonably practicable, any person from falling a distance liable to cause personal injury. Support and practical guidance on how to comply with the law is publicly available, free of charge. There is no excuse for putting workers' lives at risk."
