Safestyle fined £850,000 for contractor injury

Safestyle UK, the Bradford-based window and door manufacturer, has been hit with an £850,000 fine after a contractor was injured while working at height.

Safestyle had two incidents in 2017 which led to injuries. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) carried out investigations into both of these cases, one of which is still ongoing.

Following a court case yesterday, Safestyle has been fined £850,000 for the incident relating to a contractor’s knee injury. In relation to this, the HSE investigation found the company’s system for planning work at height was inadequate in that it failed to ensure that work was carried out in a safe manner.

The HSE had previously indicated that the range of the fine could be £550,000 to £2.9m.

Safestyle said: “The fine has been reduced in light of the guilty plea entered and the company’s full co-operation with the HSE. The company will pay the fine in the next two weeks from existing cash resources.

“The group will provide an update on the other case that is currently under investigation as and when appropriate.”

Sheffield Magistrates’ Court heard how a window installer working for Safestyle UK was attempting to install a first-floor rear bedroom window at a property in Doncaster, when the ladder he was climbing slipped. The ladder was not footed or tied and the worker fell from a height of more than three metres, suffering a broken knee cap which required surgery.

After the hearing, HSE inspector Stuart Whitesmith said: “This incident could easily have been prevented had the company implemented reasonably practicable precautions.

“Such precautions include having effective and enforced safe systems of work, whereby windows are installed internally where possible, or by using suitable access solutions which provide edge protection, and having a formal system in place to ensure works are appropriately supervised.’’

The fine follows a spate of bad news for the company, which issued profit warnings in December and February. The profit warning in February saw its shares fall more than 20% to an all-time low after Safestyle said that the activities of an “aggressive new market entrant” had added to an already competitive landscape for the group, leading to a “disappointing” order intake so far this year.