Manchester magistrates heard that R&S Builders (Mcr) Ltd had been issued with multiple improvement notices following an inspection by a Health & Safety Executive (HSE) inspector at the company’s site at Great Underbank, Stockport on 7th July 2018.
The company subsequently complied with some of the notices, including those relating to fire safety and respiratory risks, but not others.
The HSE found that welfare facilities on site remained in a poor condition, in particular there being no hot or warm running water; the company provided no evidence of compliance with this improvement notice within the deadline.
It was also a repeat offender. R&S Builders was previously subject to enforcement action by HSE in 2017 that included an improvement notice relating to inadequate welfare provisions at a different site.
R&S Builders (Mcr) Ltd of Sovereign House, Stockport Road, Cheadle, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 21 of the Health and safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and Regulation 13(4) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015. The company was fined £8,000 and ordered to pay costs of £1,814.90.
HSE inspector Chris Brookes-Mann said after the hearing: “Companies should be aware that HSE will not hesitate to take appropriate enforcement action against those that fall below the required standards. Furthermore, companies that fail to comply with an Improvement Notice in the time allowed can expect to be prosecuted since this is a criminal offence in its own right regardless of the circumstances under which the original Improvement Notice was served.”
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