What is the correct regulation for working at height?

Employers and those in control of any work at height activity must make sure work is properly planned, supervised and carried out by competent people. This includes using the right type of equipment for working at height. Low-risk, relatively straightforward tasks will require less effort when it comes to planning.

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NEWS Teaching assistant injured in a fall from height

Summary

A Church of England Junior Infants and Nursery School has been sentenced for a breach of the Health and Safety at Work Act after an employee fell through the ceiling of the school hall, causing a major injury.

What happened?

On 18 September 2019, a teaching assistant had accessed the loft space in the school and as they entered, they fell around four metres through the fragile ceiling which resulted in a broken back.

How did things go wrong?

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that when the teaching assistant was searching for a spare desk in the loft space, she fell due to the area being only partially boarded, meaning that the fragile ceiling gave way. This incident resulted in the victim suffering a broken back that left her in hospital for three weeks. She is still in recovery awaiting further operations.

What was the outcome?

The school pleaded guilty to breaching Section 6 (3) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005.

The school has been fined £4,000 and ordered to pay a surcharge of £181 and £747.80 costs.

Anything else?

After the hearing, the HSE inspector: “This incident could so easily have been avoided by simply carrying out correct control measures and safe working practices”

Working at Height It’s The Law!

Working at Height Training RoSPA Approved

This working at Height course is aimed at anyone who undertakes work at height, or who employs people who regularly work at height.

The term work at height applies to a wide range of situations ranging from the obvious ones like working on platforms, ladders, scaffolds or stages to working alongside deep trenches. This is because the crucial thing to understand about work at height is that it’s not how far you climb, but how far you can fall. ‘Falls’ doesn’t just mean people falling from heights. If materials or equipment fall, that will obviously present an equally dangerous hazard to anyone below.

All working at height situations are covered by health and safety legislation. Chief among these is the Work at Height Regulations 2005. These regulations confer legal duties on employers and employees to assess, control and minimise risks and hazards from work at height.

This course covers topics including the dangers of working at height, the regulations, the hierarchy of controls, assessing risk and much more.

It’s vital to understand all this because as I’m sure you’ll know, working at height can be extremely dangerous.

Please note that this is an awareness course only, if your duties include working at height you will also need further practical training, you can get in touch with us to arrange this.

Working at Height Training Course Covers

Introducing Work at Height The Dangers of Work at Height The Work at Height Regulations Summary of Duty Holder’s Responsibilities Employer’s Responsibilities The Hierarchy of Control Avoiding Work at Height Wherever Possible