Rajesh Voralia, a textile recycler from Surrey trading as RTS Textile Recyclers, has been fined £4,000 and ordered to pay £3,500 in costs after admitting to breaching the Work at Height Regulations SI 2005/735. The fine came after a passing safety inspector saw two members of staff working dangerously close to the edge of an unprotected roof.
The incident led to a full Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation. They found that Mr Voralia employed 60 people to sort and process unwanted clothing and rags from two premises, and just before the incident that led to the prosecution, a leak had appeared in the roof which was spoiling the rags. The two members of staff then went onto the roof using an unsecured ladder with damaged rungs, worn feet and which only projected 20cm above the roof.
The passing inspector, who is a HSE official, immediately halted the work by serving a prohibition notice; the two members of staff were working on the roof with no measures in place to prevent falls. Mr Voralia said that he was not aware that the two men were on the roof.
HSE inspector Jane Wolfenden said, "Mr Voralia told the HSE there was no work at height taking place in the unit despite the fact that there was a ladder available and that the unit had a mezzanine floor. Whilst there was no actual injury in this case, the risk of serious injury or death from falls during roof work is high and Mr Voralia could have easily prevented such work by removing access equipment and issuing a blanket instruction to his staff not to go on the roof."
She added "Falls from or through roofs and fragile roof-lights can be easily prevented by careful planning, and use of experienced workers and the right equipment. Work at height is inherently fraught with risk and falls remain the single biggest cause of deaths and serious injury."
