A salad company has been sentenced for safety breaches after a worker fell more than 4m through a greenhouse roof.
The 44-year-old was cleaning and repainting greenhouse gutters when he lost his footing and fell through the glass roof. He broke his wrist and needed 20 staples across a head wound before being released from hospital after an overnight stay.
The Health and Safety Executive prosecuted the firm for failing to protect its workforce against the risk of falls. The company was fined £12,500 with £3,921 in costs.
The worker was one of a team of employees tasked with working on the gutters of 20 greenhouses at the firm's 30-acre site. The team were told to walk heel to toe along the gutters and to use a long-handled brush to steady themselves against the glazing bars. No equipment was provided and no instruction given to protect them against a fall.
The worker had cleaned some guttering and returned to the ground to collect his brush and paint. He climbed back up and had completed a short length of paintwork when his right foot went through the glass and he fell through the fragile roof.
HSE Inspector Andrew Gale said: "This case highlights how important it is for employers to identify the risks involved in working at height, particularly near fragile materials, and taking the necessary steps to reduce those risks and prevent falls.
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Source: http://www.hse.gov.uk/press/2012/rnn-yh-20112.htm
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