Company fined as worker breaks leg from fall

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A company has been fined £120,000 after an employee broke his leg while working on a property in Salisbury.

The man, who was 23 at the time, fell from the roof of the house on Sherfield English Road while working for EE Renewables Limited on 16 December 2022.

He had been adjusting a solar panel when he slid and fell four metres onto the ground below, sustaining a broken femur as a result.

A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found EE Renewables Limited had not properly planned the work at height and failed to take suitable steps to prevent a fall. The company had been hired by the homeowner to move nine solar panels higher up on the roof.

The company had been hired to move solar panels on the homeowner’s roof

HSE guidance can be found at: Work at height – HSE

EE Renewables Limited, of Salterns Lane, Fareham, Hampshire, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The company was fined £120,000 and ordered to pay £4,716 in costs at Swindon Magistrates’ Court on 23 December 2024.

HSE inspector Sam Applebee said: “EE Renewables Limited did not properly plan this work so it could be carried out in a safe manner. There were inadequate means of protecting the workers from falling off the roof, with the company failing to provide edge protection.

The worker fell four metres onto the ground below

“Working at height remains one of the biggest causes of injuries and fatalities in Britain, so it is important that companies ensure they implement the correct control measures and safe working practices.”

This prosecution was brought by HSE enforcement lawyer Karen Park and supported by HSE paralegal officer Rebecca Withell.

Notes to editors:

  1. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety. We are dedicated to protecting people and places, and helping everyone lead safer and healthier lives.
  2. More information about the legislation referred to in this case is available.
  3. Further details on the latest HSE news releases is available.
  4. HSE does not pass sentences, set guidelines or collect any fines imposed. Relevant sentencing guidelines must be followed unless the court is satisfied that it would be contrary to the interests of justice to do so.  The sentencing guidelines for health and safety offences in England and Wales can be found here and for those in Scotland here.