Worker Falls from Height Due to Unprotected Roof Edge

AN EMPLOYEE fell from the unprotected edge of a roof leading to the prosecution of a Milton Keynes-based roofing company.

Reading Magistrates’ Court heard on 12 July 2018 how an employee of Bailey Roofing was laying roof felt when he fell 8 metres from the roof’s unprotected edge on 16 March 2017. The worker suffered a fractured skull as a result.

Unprotected Roof Edge

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that the roof work was not appropriately planned, supervised or carried out in a safe manner. The work to replace the roof of a mid-terraced three-storey town-house was undertaken with edge protection only in place at the front of the property with nothing in place at the rear to prevent a fall.

Bailey Roofing (MK) Ltd of Galley Lane, Great Brickhill, Milton Keynes pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 4(1) and Regulation 6(3) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 and has been fined £1,200 and ordered to pay costs of £923.75.

Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Stephen Manley, said: “A well planned job would have addressed the risks from working on a roof. In this case, the roofing contractor assumed the edge protection would be provided by others, and a lack of communication over what was needed and basic checks meant that work continued with no protection at all at one end of the roof.”

“Companies should be aware that HSE will not hesitate to take appropriate enforcement action against those that fall below the required standards.”