Stoke on Trent cleaning company fined for risky roof work

A Stoke-on-Trent company, which uses jet washers to clean roof tiles, has been fined after a worker was spotted on a roof without any falls protection in place. A member of the public spotted a man standing on the pitched roof of a domestic property in Cheddleton, Staffordshire, while carrying out the cleaning work on 25 October 2013. The member of the public took photos of the work taking place and contacted the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) who carried out an investigation.
Stafford Magistrates’ Court heard that an inspector from HSE’s Stoke office followed up the member of the public’s report and found that Roof Right UK Ltd routinely arranged for such work to take place without any suitable falls protection being in place. A Prohibition Notice was issued to Roof Right UK Ltd preventing them from carrying out further work unless suitable controls such as scaffolding were provided.
Roof Right UK Ltd of Festival Park, Stoke-on-Trent, were found guilty in their absence to breaching Regulation 3(1)(b) of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, and Regulation 4(1) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005. They were fined £10,000 and were ordered to pay costs of £1,277.
Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Andrew Bowker said: “I would like to thank the member of the public for bringing this matter to our attention as they have undoubtedly prevented a serious injury. It is staggering to me that a company operating in 2013 thought that it was acceptable to allow workers onto pitched property roofs to carry out jet washing work without providing scaffolding or other suitable falls protection measures. Roof Right UK Ltd put workers’ lives in danger by allowing them onto a slippery roof without suitable safety measures being in place. They failed to recognise their responsibility to ensure that work at height carried out under their control was done safely.”
Karen Fryer, Head of Consulting at CRS said “This is just another example of companies needing proper, competent health and safety advice.  This is a sensible legal requirement, and will almost always result in fines and punishments when not provided.  It’s often a tip-off from a member of the public as was the case here leads Health and Safety Executive to visit a company.  Our SafetyShare service provides access to a qualified health and safety adviser’s services.  As many or as few days service each year as needed – you simply use as much as you need for a low fixed price”.