Employers have a legal responsibility to protect workers

Employers have been reminded by a government body that they have a 'legal responsibility' to protect their workers.

Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspector David Bradley made the comment after a roofing firm in Barnsley was fined after two of its employees were seen working at height without necessary precautions in place.

John Hartshorne of Monk Bretton was fined £2,000 and ordered to pay costs of £500 after pleading guilty to the breaching regulations.

Discussing the incident, Mr Bradley suggested that fall arrest equipment should have been used at the site.

'This particular project was very poorly planned, and there were no controls in place to prevent falls from the roof where in areas there was potential to fall 30 feet to the ground,' he explained.

Last week, a Staffordshire-based construction firm was fined after a worker was injured whilst working on an unsafe excavation.

Winnington Construction's David Farrow suffered internal injuries and a broken pelvis at a site where the company was installing a septic tank.

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