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The fine equates to approximately a third of the company's annual profits.
St Albans Crown Court heard how a 32-year-old labourer was working for Richardson Roofing Company Ltd (RRCL) on a construction site at Kingsley Green, Radlett, Hertfordshire on 8th August 2013.
The worker was fitting battens onto the roof around holes for the skylights when he stepped on a membrane covering one of the holes and fell approximately five metres. He broke both wrists and fractured his skull; he was in hospital for 15 days and has not been able to return to roofing work.
An investigation by the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) found that the hole had been previously covered by boards but these were later removed to complete the works up to hole’s edge, leaving the hole visually obscured by the thin roofing membrane. The company failed to properly identify and put in place controls for controlling the hazard of falling through the roof once the boards were removed.
Richardson Roofing Company Ltd, of Richardson House, Moor Lane, Staines, Middlesex, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 4(1) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005. It was fined £200,000 and ordered to pay costs of £6,865.
The company made a profit of £643,000 in the year to 31st August 2015 on turnover of £13.2m.
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