Employees of Heswall-based Canova UK stood on a sloping roof to carry out repairs, including using a jet spray power washer to clear moss. They used no scaffolding, edge protection or other safety equipment to stop falls.
Wirral Magistrates' Court heard how an inspector form the Health & Safety Executive had visited a bungalow on Irby Road in Heswall on 29 January 2010 after receiving a complaint about work on the site.
The inspector saw one of the workers standing at the ridge of the roof, more than four metres above the ground. The other employee was also on the roof at the rear of the bungalow. He issued an immediate prohibition notice to stop work on the roof.
The court was told that the company had previously received a prohibition notice following a similar incident at a property on Parkgate Road in Neston on 16 October 2009.
Canova UK Ltd pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 6(3) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005. It was fined £2,000 and ordered to pay £1,500 costs.
HSE inspector Michael Hodge, who had visited the house in Heswall, said after the hearing: "It's extremely disappointing that Canova UK allowed two of its employees to work on a roof without safety equipment, despite receiving a formal warning over a similar incident less than four months earlier.
"If either of the workers had slipped and fallen, they would have been seriously injured or even killed. We therefore had no other choice but to prosecute the company.
"Falls from height are among the biggest causes of workplace deaths in the UK. Roofing firms should therefore ensure they have safe systems of work in place to protect workers."
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