Croydon construction company sentenced after health and safety audit
Working conditions at a construction site in Lewisham have led to the fines a construction company in Croydon will have to pay. The company was given several warnings regarding their unsafe working conditions, but they failed to take the health and safety audit results seriously. Anza Construction was prosecuted by the HSE after they found serious health and safety breaches during two visits to the Lewisham site in 2009. The court heard about the failure to follow the warnings in court Friday May 18, 2012. The HSE served a Prohibition Notice for the risk of falls and an Improvement Notice regarding welfare facilities. Inspectors went again for a third time, but found that insufficient changes had been made. This is why they stopped work at the site and issued the notice of prosecution.
The company, the court was told, repeatedly ignored the warnings. Their neglect could have led to worker incidents including the possibility of death. A fall from height can be quite dangerous and proper duty of care must be taken. Construction sites are often the leading industry for worker falls. The company is lucky that no serious injuries occurred, but it is necessary for the company to understand the dangers they put people in. A fine for £15,000 has been levied against them as well as over £6,700 in additional costs. The company is now in liquidation due to their safety and health breaches, meaning the company may not survive the court case.
