Company and director sentenced for putting workers at risk

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A roofing firm has been fined and its director has been handed a suspended prison sentence after the lives of workers were put at risk during a renovation in Surrey.

Weather Master Roofing Limited and company director Jack Avanzo, also known as Jack Avenzo, were sentenced at Brighton Magistrates’ Court on Monday following a prosecution by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

Company and director sentenced

An investigation carried out by the Health and Safety Executive found that workers were operating without any scaffolding or edge protection on the roof of a house.

As a result, workers were at risk of falling from height, while there were also no measures to mitigate a fall, with the likes of harnesses not being used. Workers were also observed using the lights from their phones and torches while working on the property at night.

HSE subsequently served Weather Master Roofing Limited with an Improvement Notice on 28 February 2023. The notice required the company to improve how it planned, carried out, supervised and monitored the work that was taking place on the roof.

However, the company failed to comply with the notice.

During a sentencing hearing at Brighton Magistrates’ Court on 2 December 2024:

Weather Master Roofing Limited, of Muswell Hill, Broadway, London, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 4(1) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005, Section 33(1)(c) and Section 33(1)(g) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The company was fined £4,000 and ordered to pay £1,500 in costs as well as a victim surcharge of £1,600.
Jack Avanzo, of Ballyspillane, Killarney, County Kerry, Republic of Ireland, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 4(1) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005, Section 33(1)(c) and Section 33(1)(g) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. He was handed a six-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, ordered to complete 120 hours of unpaid work and disqualified from being a director for three years. He was also ordered to pay £1,500 in costs.

HSE inspector Stephanie Hickford-Smith said:

“Falls from height are still the single biggest cause of work-related deaths in Great Britain. The law is clear – suitable and sufficient measures must be taken to prevent, where reasonably practicable, any person falling a distance liable to cause personal injury.

Support and practical guidance on how to comply with the law is publicly available, free of charge. There is no excuse for putting workers lives at risk.”

According to the latest statistics, 50 workers died after falling from a height in Great Britain in 2023 and 2024 – and is currently the leading cause of fatalities at work.

Working at Height Regulations – What are the rules?

The Work at Height Regulations 2005 set out the rules to prevent death and injury caused by a fall from a height.

Meanwhile, the HSE has clear guidance on its website about how to plan and carry work at height out safety, including the preventative measures required.

The Health and Safety Executive states that if you are working from a height, you must make sure work is properly planned, supervised and carried out by competent people with the skills, knowledge and experience to do the job. You must use the right type of equipment for working at height.

You must also assess and control the risks involved in the task – including the height you will be required to work at, the duration and frequency of you will be working at a height and the condition of the surface being worked on.

Definition of working at height

According to the health and safety executive, ‘work at height’ means work in any place where, if there were no precautions in place, a person could fall a distance liable to cause personal injury (for example a fall through a fragile roof).

For example, you are working at height if you:

work above ground/floor level
could fall from an edge, through an opening or fragile surface or
could fall from ground level into an opening in a floor or a hole in the ground

Work at height does not include a slip or a trip on the level, as a fall from height has to involve a fall from one level to a lower level, nor does it include walking up and down a permanent staircase in a building.

Working from a height – Steps to follow

Before working at height follow these simple steps:

avoid work at height where it’s reasonably practicable to do so
where work at height cannot be easily avoided, prevent falls using either an existing place of work that is already safe or the right type of equipment
where the risk cannot be eliminated, minimise the distance and consequences of a fall by using the right type of equipment

For each step, consider measures that protect everyone at risk (collective protection) before measures that only protect the individual (personal protection).

Working from a height – types of protection to be considered

Collective protection

Collective protection is equipment that does not require the person working at height to act for it to be effective. Examples are:

permanent or temporary guardrails
scissor lifts
tower scaffolds

Personal protection (PPE)

Personal protection is equipment that requires the individual to act for it to be effective. An example is putting on a safety harness correctly and connecting it, with an energy-absorbing lanyard, to a suitable anchor point.

Working from a height – Dos and don’ts

When working at height you should:

Do as much work as possible from the ground
Ensure workers can get safely to and from where they work at height
Ensure equipment is suitable, stable and strong enough for the job, maintained and checked regularly
Take precautions when working on or near fragile surfaces
Provide protection from falling objects
Consider emergency evacuation and rescue procedures

To prevent accidents and injuries do not:

Overload ladders – consider the equipment or materials workers are carrying before working at height. Check the pictogram or label on the ladder for information
Overreach on ladders or stepladders
Rest a ladder against weak upper surfaces, for example glazing or plastic gutters
Use ladders or stepladders for strenuous or heavy tasks, only use them for light work of short duration (a maximum of 30 minutes at a time)
Let anyone who is not competent (who doesn’t have the skills, knowledge and experience to do the job) work at height

Accidents at Work – Making a claim

If you have been injured at work through no fault of your own, you may be entitled to claim compensation. Your employer has a duty to protect workers from harm – and if you have suffered because of their failings, we may be able to help you.

Oakwood Solicitors Ltd has an experienced team who specialises in employer liability and accident at work claims.

How to claim for an accident at work

Whether you are an employee, agency worker or contractor you may be able to claim for an accident at work.

The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 states that it is the duty of every employer to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of all his employees.

This includes assessing risks, and implementing strategies to minimise risks, providing adequate training and protective equipment for all workers, and carrying out checks to ensure maintenance of any equipment is up to date.

However, if you have suffered an injury at work you may be entitled to make a claim.

How long do I have to make a claim?

Legal proceedings must be commenced within 3 years from the date of your accident. Failure to do this may result in your claim being time-barred and you may not be able to make a claim for compensation.

If a loved one has deceased, the time limit for bringing a claim is 3 years from the date of death.

What compensation can I claim?

Each Employers’ Liability case is assessed individually and is dependent on supportive medical evidence. You can claim for:

General Damages – Made for the pain, suffering, and loss of amenity of life that are evidentially linked to the accident at work directly. The pain and suffering element of the award compensates for all past, present, and future physical and psychiatric symptoms.

Loss of amenity means the inability to complete activities, either temporarily or permanently, after an accident, which could be undertaken before. This is an award designed to compensate you for the actual injuries suffered, and the effect those have had on your quality of life.

Special Damages – Compensates for any financial losses or out-of-pocket expenses as a result of the accident at work. This would include (but is not limited to) loss of earnings, medication or prescription charges, travel to appointments or any cost of care for the extra care you have needed from family or care providers.

If you are unable to do tasks like gardening, or walking the dog, and have to pay for these services as a consequence of your accident and subsequent injuries, these can also be claimed for.

This can also include any future loss claim and if you are unable to return to the same job as a result of the accident at work, you can claim for a lump sum based on your wages known as the Smith v Manchester award.

This is where it can be proved that as a result of your injuries, there is a risk you would find it more difficult to obtain similar employment.

However, an injured person has a duty to take reasonable steps to minimise their losses/expenses. This is called mitigation of losses, and a Court will assess whether or not the loss was reasonably incurred, before making an award.

How much compensation will I get?

The amount of compensation you can claim depends on the severity of your injuries and the effect it has had on your life. If symptoms are ongoing and are supported by medical evidence, this would increase the value of your claim.

The Judicial College Guidelines set out financial brackets for common types of injuries, as will be referenced to estimate the value of the claim.

The guidelines are broken down into the affected body parts and the type and severity of the injury. They were introduced as it was recognised that whilst no two cases are ever precisely the same, justice was required to develop consistency between awards.

Precedent case law is also relied on to support the valuation and consideration must also be given to whether you have had a pre-existing disability or whether the injury accelerated a pre-existing condition.

Even where the older injury may not be symptomatic at the time of the accident, it is something that will have to be considered and would affect the value of your claim.

How long does an accident at work claim take?

Each case is different and whether an insurance company agrees to deal with a case depends on a number of factors. It is therefore very difficult to advise on the length of time a case may take as it may be that it is not clear who is responsible for your accident.

Your solicitor will advise you if there are issues that arise which means the duration of your case will be affected. It will depend on various matters, such as:

Level of your injury
Ongoing treatment
Whether your employers admit fault
Whether proceedings would need to be issued to secure compensation
Speed of communication between parties
Issues with your medical records/reports

Why should I use Oakwood Solicitors for my accident at work claim?

Oakwood Solicitors Ltd is an expert in Employers’ Liability cases and has over twenty years of experience in running and pursuing these cases.

We will ensure that we update you at every stage of the case and you will have a dedicated handler from the very beginning. It can be very stressful after an injury and our team can assist you by breaking down the legal jargon during the process and listening to you.

When you instruct us, you can expect a friendly, down-to-earth approach together with extensive knowledge of the field which will be used to fight tenaciously with the insurers to achieve the maximum level of compensation possible for you.

Accidents at Work: Company and director sentenced for putting workers at risk