Breach of Health & Safety Regulations

5 year Ban for Managing Director following a blatant disregard for Health and Safety

After breaching numerous health and safety regulations the managing director of a fuel tank manufacturing business has been banned from directing any company for five years.

He also received a fine of fined £17,000. and ordered to pay £9,169 costs after admitting breaching Regulation 4(1) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 and Section 33(1)(g) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.

In addition to the managing directors bans and fines the company, was also fined £70,000, with costs of £27,507 after being found guilty of eight separate breaches of health and safety law. As a result of the Company is now in administration.

Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspectors investigated and prosecuted following a complaint from a concerned employee.

Employees at the works in Stratford-upon-Avon were exposed to lead and other harmful chemicals while spraying paint without the correct safety measures in place and also put at risk of falls from height without adequate safety equipment provided.

Specialist inspectors from the HSE took air samples as well as blood and urine samples to assess exposure to lead, and other harmful chemicals in the plant which were being sprayed unsafely.

The company was condemned for allowing workers to spray paint, containing toxic lead chromate, without adequate controls in place, leaving them to breathe in harmful fumes and absorb lead into their blood.

Long-term exposure to lead can result in irreversible damage to the central and peripheral nervous system damage, kidney damage and gastrointestinal problems.

Tests on several of the workers showed higher levels of lead than the UK population average.

Workers were also expected to stand beneath the half-tonne fuel tanks they were painting during the spraying process with nothing to prevent them from being crushed if the lifting equipment had failed. The lifting equipment had not been maintained or checked properly making a failure more likely.

The company was also criticised for allowing its employees to work on top of the tanks with no safety equipment to prevent them falling two metres on to the concrete floor. The workers received no training or instructions and were left to devise their own systems of work.

The HSE served four prohibition notices and four improvement notices during its investigation. The Managing Director ignored the notices prohibiting work at height and continued to instruct his employees to work on top of the tanks.

The HSE Inspector said:

"The Managing Director deliberately flouted health and safety laws and paid scant regard to the safety of his employees. I agree with what the District Judge said in court about it being a lamentable situation and it was very fortunate that there were no injuries before we carried out our investigation. Legal proceedings highlighted that there was a complete flagrant lack of attention and as we heard in court, a gross dereliction of duty by the management of this company."

 "Companies and their managing directors have a legal responsibility to protect their employees. No one should be expected to work in the conditions found and it is quite right that an employee contacted HSE to complain. Failure to properly manage health and safety can have catastrophic results."

The Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) Directing Safely course aims to provide directors/owners of small and medium sized enterprises with an understanding of the moral, legal and business case for proactive health and safety management and give guidance on effective risk management.