Council fined £40 after employee injured falling from ladder

A Yorkshire council has been fined £40,000 after an employee was injured when he fell from a ladder.

Hull Magistrates’ Court was told that an employee of East Riding of Yorkshire Council (ERYC) fell from a ladder on 23 April 2015 while descending from a porch roof which was being re-felted. He fell 2.4 metres and suffered two broken vertebrae.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive into the incident found that the ladder was not tied and there was no edge protection in place for the porch roof. The task had not been risk assessed and decisions regarding safety and equipment were left to the workers.

The council pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, and was fined £40,000 and ordered to pay costs of £664.00.