Contractor health and safety fines rise by 22 per cent
15th November 2011
Contractors were fined a total of £3.4 million for health and safety breaches last year, an increase of 22 per cent on the previous year.
New figures from the Health and Safety Executive show fines rose from £2.8m in 2009/10.
The HSE launched 214 cases in 2010/11, 197 of which resulted in at least one conviction. The average fine handed down in each case was £17,283.
In all, the HSE instituted 362 offences, 300 of which resulted in a conviction. The average fine per offence was £11,349.
HSE chief construction inspector Philip White said: “The courts set fines at a level that reflects the seriousness of the health and safety failures we see in the construction industry.
“But court costs are just one part of the price the industry pays for failing to manage risk sensibly and effectively – personal suffering for the victims, lost productivity, ruined reputations and in the worst cases, companies closing down.
“It’s in everyone’s interests to get better at managing risks on site.”
Among the heftiest fines handed down last year was the £385,000 penalty paid by Cotswold Geotechnical Holdings, the first company ever to be convicted under the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007.
Other significant fines in 2010/11 include £300,000 handed down to BT after a worker fell to his death while carrying out installation works, £130,000 for Lafarge after an electrical engineer was engulfed by a fireball, and £260,000 for a Fife papermaking firm after a worker fell 50 feet to his death through a fragile roof.
The figures were revealed as part of the HSE’s annual statistical release, which showed major injuries per 100,000 employees had decreased significantly since 2007/08.
The incidence rate for major injuries – including amputations, fractures and burns – in 2010/11 was 173.2 incidents per 100,000 workers, a drop of 25 per cent since 2007/08 and down from 180.5 per 100,000 workers in 2009/10.
The figure represents around 9 per cent of reported major injuries across all industries in 2010/11 while construction employs 5 per cent of the total workforce.
HSE estimates that 5,000 occupational cancer cases arise each year as a result of past exposures in the construction sector and an estimated 36,000 new cases of work-related ill health were recorded.
In total, around 2.3 million working days were lost due to self-reported work-related illness or workplace injury in the sector.
More than three-quarters of these were due to health problems and only a quarter due to injuries. This equates to 1.1 days lost per worker.
HSE chair Judith Hackitt said: “The fall in the number of people being injured by work is of course to be welcomed but we did also see an increase in the number of fatalities during the year.
“Britain can be proud that it has one of the best health and safety records in Europe, but as the increase in the number of fatalities makes clear we can never let up in our commitment to addressing the serious risks which continue to cause death and injury in workplaces.
“HSE will continue to work with employees, employers and other organisations to maintain and, where necessary improve, health and safety standards. We all have a responsibility to make sure serious workplace risks are sensibly managed.”