Contacts

Schools were closed following hydrochloric acid release   Joint investigation and prosecution by HSE and the Environment Agency  Guidance is available on maintaining equipment in large chemical plants  A chemical manufacturing company has been fined £2.5m following two incidents of uncontrolled releases of highly corrosive acids at its site in West Thurrock, Essex.   Industrial Chemicals Ltd […]

  20-foot tree toppled during Bury Market installation HSE has well-established guidance on safely working at height Bury Metropolitan Borough Council has been fined £200,000 after a man was injured while installing the town’s Christmas tree. The council employee was using a scissor lift to straighten the 20-foot tall Christmas tree when it toppled over […]

This April, Britain’s bosses are being invited to follow five simple steps to prevent and reduce stress in their workplace. The Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) Working Minds campaign has called on employers to support workers mental health during Stress Awareness Month. Over the course of the month, employers are encouraged to focus on one […]

  Worker “lucky to be alive” after being hit from behind by moving shovel loader HSE guidance says pedestrians and moving vehicles must be segregated   A waste and recycling company in Oldham has been fined £250,000 after a man was run over on his first day on the job. The then 40-year-old was hand […]

Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board has been fined £250,000 following failures relating to patient falls in its hospitals. Three elderly patients sustained falls in 2022 and 2023 and they all sadly died. The cause of death of two of them was identified as being as a direct result of falling. Richard Hughes, 84 and Gwilym […]

Thirteen foot fall caused brain haemorrhage and multiple fractures Barn roof also contained asbestos HSE guidance is available for working at height A self-employed builder has been told to complete 200 hours unpaid work after a man fell more than 13 feet through a barn roof in Lancashire. James Dargan-Cole, 25, of Todmorden, had failed […]

A self-employed roofing contractor has been ordered to undertake unpaid work after the uncontrolled spread of asbestos in a back garden, putting two young workers and local residents at risk. Doorbell-cam footage shows parts of an old garage roof being disposed of with a lack of control measures. The footage has been released by the […]

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has published its 2025 Annual Science Review, showcasing the work it has delivered in support of the five strategic objectives outlined in the HSE’s 10-year strategy Protecting People and Places. The 2025 review features more than 20 case studies from HSE’s science division with demonstrating how its extensive expertise, […]

A company and its director have been fined a combined £18,000 after a man was injured during excavation work in West Sussex. JHE Construction and Jordan Hay-Ellis pleaded guilty to breaching health and safety laws following the incident on 23 February 2023. The company had been contracted to complete a full barn conversion, which included […]

The Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) campaign aimed at preventing or combatting stress in the workplace has welcomed a new partner ahead of stress awareness month in April.  Healthy Working Wales has become the 36th organisation to join Working Minds as part of its mission to improve the health of employees across Wales.  In 2023/24, […]

Man fell through fragile roof in Dudley. Company, now in liquidation, does not escape criminal sanction Detailed guidance on both working on fragile surfaces and working at height is available from HSE. A company and its operations manager have both been fined after a man fell to his death through a roof at its site […]

A Scottish local authority has been fined more than £13,000 after a carbon monoxide leak at a primary school in Bishopbriggs. East Dunbartonshire Council pleaded guilty following the incident at Balmuildy Primary School in February 2020.  A number of staff and pupils attending the school on 19 February 2020 reported feeling ill, experiencing symptoms such […]

A London property developer has been fined £63,000 plus costs after Britain’s workplace regulator found multiple failures at a construction site in Dalston. Nofax Enterprises Limited was investigated by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) following four visits to its site on Dalston Lane over a 13 month period between 2020 and 2021. The company […]

Britain’s workplace regulator is reminding manufacturing firms of their asbestos duties.  As we approach Global Asbestos Awareness Week (April 1 – 7), the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is reminding those running businesses occupying buildings built before 2000 to properly assess, manage and monitor asbestos risks in line with the law.  Older manufacturing facilities may […]

A hydraulics company, with locations throughout the UK, has been fined after an employee became trapped in a machine that he was working on at a customer’s premises in Plymouth. David Lawrence, a 63-year-old engineer, was undertaking fault finding on a laser cutting machine for Pearson Hydraulics Ltd, on 26 July 2023, when the cutting […]

A self-employed builder has been handed a suspended prison sentence following the death of an asylum seeker who fell from scaffolding at a domestic property in Bradford. Sarabjit Singh, 44, was sentenced to six months imprisonment, suspended for 12 months, and ordered to complete 100 hours of unpaid work. Mr Eraj Rahanpour, a 29-year-old originally […]

An East Yorkshire company has been fined more than half a million pounds after an employee’s lower arm was severed when it became entangled in a conveyor. Bartosz Gaj, a blender operative, had been attempting to clear a blockage at AB Agri Limited’s premises in Fridaythorpe, Driffield on 3 November 2021. Mr Gaj’s hand was […]

A North-East manufacturing company has been fined more than £200,000 after a worker sustained serious burns to his hands. Inspectors from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) visited Novares Peterlee Limited on 30 March 2022. During the visit to the site on Northwest Industrial Estate, inspectors found unsafe working practices, including workers operating machinery at […]

Sarah Albon, Chief Executive This is no ordinary new years’ message. Because on 1 January, 50 years ago, the regulator I am proud to lead was formed. Over the past half century, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has led the way in establishing Great Britain as a safe place to work. As we look […]

A manufacturing company has been fined £15,000 after exposing its own workers to wood dust and failing to comply with two improvement notices. Wood dust can cause serious and often irreversible health problems, including sino-nasal cancer, asthma and dermatitis. Employers have a legal responsibility to prevent or adequately control exposure in the workplace. After concerns […]