Company director jailed for manslaughter following a workers fall

A worker died form injuries after a fall at work where his employers had failed to take the necessary health and safety precautions  - 31st August 2008

 

A company director has been jailed for manslaughter for failing to ensure that the correct health and safety measures were in place whist refurbishment of a building was been carried out by his company.

This tragic accident at work happened on the 31st January 2008 in Trowse, Norwich when a worker being employed by Alcon Construction Ltd had a fall from height through a skylight of approximately 12 feet, where he received these fatal injuries at work.

The prosecution was brought by Norfolk Police with the help of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) against Sharaz Butt, a director of Alcon Construction Ltd, who pleaded guilty to section 37 of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 which states: “Where an offence under any of the relevant statutory provisions committed by a body corporate is proved to have been committed with the consent or connivance of, or to have been attributable to any neglect on the part of, any director, manager, secretary or other similar officer of the body corporate or a person who purporting to act in such a capacity, he as well as the body corporate shall be guilty of that offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.” He was sentenced to 12 months in jail and disqualified from being a company director for 5 years.

Charges were also brought against Alcon Construction Ltd under section 2 of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, which states: “It shall be the duty of every employer to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of all his employees”, for this they were only fined £10 but the judge commented that the fine would have been tens of thousands of pounds if the company had the ability to pay it.

Peter Nickerson a HSE Inspector said of the accident: "The sentence handed down by the judge reflects the seriousness of the offence committed by Mr. Butt. As company director, he was responsible for the health and safety of all his workers, and he failed to fulfil this responsibility.

"Mr. Weng’s tragic death could have been prevented had his employer followed basic health and safety procedures. The skylight Mr. Weng was working near had had not been properly covered and was a dangerous place to work.

"Mr. Butt had also failed to prepare a method statement and risk assessment for the work he expected his staff to do, did not provide appropriate access and egress, and did not ensure that his staff received the necessary training to carry out the work.

"All employers have a duty to protect the safety of their workers. The construction industry in particular has one of the highest rates of fatalities in Britain, and HSE will not hesitate to prosecute those who put the lives of their employees at risk in this way."