A Manchester-based building contractor has been jailed for eight months following the death of a casual labourer who fell through a fragile roof.
The labourer had been carrying out repair work at Witney Mill in the city when he fell seven metres while carrying out repair and maintenance work on a warehouse roof on 23 November 2013.
The contractor, Saleem Hussain, had been hired by the warehouse owner who believed him to be a competent building contractor. He employed two people to do the work but failed to assess the risks or put a safe working method in place. No suitable training or equipment to work on the roof had been provided.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found that both workers were not qualified to carry out work at height. They had accessed the roof via a ladder in order to repair and seal leaking guttering. No safety measures were in place to protect the two men from the danger of falling through the fragile roof.
Saleem Hussain of Birchfields Road, Manchester pleaded guilty to a breach of Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and was sentenced to eight months immediate imprisonment.
Speaking after the hearing HSE principal inspector Mike Sebastian said: “The dangers of falls through fragile roofs and working at height are well known. Simple steps such as removing the need to access the roof directly by using mobile working platforms, or boarding out the roof, or using safety harnesses, can and should be used to prevent accident and injury.
“Mr Hussain’s failure to take any such actions resulted in a tragic and needless loss of life.”
Commenting on the severity of the sentence, Andrew Katzen, partner and head of regulatory team at law firm Hickman & Rose, said: “Custodial sentences in health and safety cases are reserved for the most egregious examples of irresponsible management. In this case there is no indication of previous health and safety offences and the contractor’s early guilty plea would have gained him credit.
“That the court nonetheless deemed an eight-month sentence to be appropriate reflects the severity of this complete failure to consider the safety requirements of an obviously high-risk job. This case is a reminder to managers and contractors that the courts are not afraid to impose custodial sentences. Companies may be prosecuted, but they cannot be imprisoned.”
