TASK 03

Health & Safety fines for non-compliance

Under the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 non-compliance can attract site shut down, fines
up to £20,000 and/or 6 months imprisonment – in certain limited cases this can be up to 2
years imprisonment.

Thousands of random site inspections are now being conducted by the HSE p.a. on sites of
all sizes to reduce the rate of fatal and major injuries by 66% by 2009/10.

You can be fined or charged pre-emptively if there is seen to be ‘an accident waiting to
happen’ on site even if one hasn’t actually happened.

Breach of section 2(1) of Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974

"Prosecution of Mr Andrew Howard of High Wycombe, partner in the Beech dean Dairies
partnership.
Mr Howard pleaded guilty to breaching section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974
and was fined £6,000 and ordered to pay costs of £5,000, plus a victim surcharge of £15. The
prosecution found that the Beechdean Dairies partnership did not ensure the health and safety of
his employees when working at height, which lead to a member of staff being injured at work. On
19 June 2007, an employee was felting a link roof and filling in gaps between the link roof, freezers
and walls, when the ladder he was standing on slipped or fell and he fell. He broke both his
wrists."
Extract from HSE Newsletter

Sleeping on site

"HSE warns of dangers of sleeping on construction sites. Asaad Al-Helu of Hull pleaded guilty to
two offences under Section 33(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. He was fined
£1,000, and ordered to pay costs of £1,149 plus a Victims' Surcharge of £15. The prosecution came
because of construction work undertaken at Edgecumbe Street in Hull during February 2008.
Asaad Al-Helu, as the principal contractor undertaking the work, had allowed five migrant Polish
workers to use the site as sleeping accommodation. Asaad Al-Helu had also failed to prepare a
construction plan before the start of construction work, which should have brought to light the
risks from fire, work at heights and site electrics.
The plan would have enabled safe working practices to be used."
Extract from HSE Newsletter

http://www.hbxl.co.uk/outside/latest-health-and-safety-fines.htm
Penalties for health and safety offences
The Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 (the HSW Act), section 33 (as amended) sets out the
offences and maximum penalties under health and safety legislation.

Failing to comply with an improvement or prohibition notice, or a court remedy order (issued
under the HSW Act sections 21, 22 and 42 respectively):

Lower court maximum £20000 and/or 12 months’ imprisonment

Higher court maximum Unlimited fine and/or 2 years’ imprisonment

Breach of sections 2–6 of the HSW Act, which set out the general duties of employers, self-
employed persons, persons who have control of premises, employees, manufacturers and suppliers
to safeguard the health and safety of employees and members of the public who may be affected by
work activities:

Lower court maximum £20000 and/or 12 months’ imprisonment

Higher court maximum Unlimited fine and/or 2 years’ imprisonment

Most other breaches of the HSW Act,† contravening licence requirements and breaches of all
health and safety regulations under the Act. Regulations impose both general and more specific
duties, such as the requirements to carry out a suitable and sufficient risk assessment or to
provide suitable personal protective equipment. Licensing requirements apply to high hazard
activities such as nuclear installations and asbestos stripping:

Lower court maximum £20000 and/or 12 months’ imprisonment

Higher court maximum Unlimited fine and/or 2 years’ imprisonment

On conviction of directors for indictable offences in connection with the management of a company
(all of the above, by virtue of the HSW Act sections 36 and 37), the courts may also make a
disqualification order (Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986, sections 1 and 2). The courts
have exercised this power following health and safety convictions. Health and safety inspectors
draw this power to the court’s attention whenever appropriate.

Lower court maximum 5 years’ disqualification

Higher court maximum 15 years’ disqualification
http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/hse41.pdf

TASK 04

Welfare facilities
This information sheet is for duty holders involved in construction work. It replaces previous
guidance contained in Provision of welfare facilities at transient construction sites and in
Provision of welfare facilities at fixed construction sites. It gives guidance on the minimum welfare
facilities that must be provided or made available to workers on construction sites. Construction
workers need adequate toilet and washing facilities, a place to warm up and eat their food and
somewhere to store clothing. However, these basic requirements are often neglected. A cold water
tap and chemical toilet on their own are not adequate facilities. Good facilities can positively benefit
health and well-being and can help to prevent dermatitis.

Planning

The availability of welfare facilities, their location on site and regular maintenance must be
considered at the planning and preparation stages of every construction project, before
construction work (including demolition) starts.

When planning welfare provision, consider:

 The nature of the work to be carried out and the health risks associated with it. For
example, consider the provision of showers if the project involves hazardous substances or very
dirty work, eg sewer maintenance, dusty demolition activities, work with contaminated land or
concrete pouring;
 The distance workers will have to travel to the welfare facilities; n the duration of the work
and number of different locations;
 The numbers of people who will use them; n the cleaning and maintenance of the welfare
facilities;
 Whether they need to be relocated during the construction phase.

Installing and removing from site

You need to plan how welfare units will be moved from delivery vehicles into position. It is
preferable to mechanically move these units; if manual handling cannot be avoided then you
should manage the risk effectively. Your plans should cover safe lifting practices and ensure
proper protection of workers from falls from vehicles or portable units.
Assignment 1 2015
Positioning on site

You should site welfare units and manage traffic effectively to ensure adequate segregation of
pedestrians and vehicles.

Toilets

So far as is reasonably practicable you need to provide flushing toilets and running water,
connected to mains water and drainage systems. If this is not possible, facilities with a built-in
water supply and drainage tanks should be used. Portable chemical toilets are acceptable only if it
is not reasonably practicable to make other adequate provision. Toilets must be adequately
ventilated, lit and maintained in a clean condition. The frequency of cleaning will depend on usage.
Basic daily cleaning may not always be sufficient.

Toilets must be adequately ventilated, lit and maintained in a clean condition. The frequency of
cleaning will depend on usage. Basic daily cleaning may not always be sufficient.

Provide an adequate number of toilets. The number needed will depend on the number of workers
on site and the type of facilities provided. Portable toilets have a limited capacity and will need
emptying. The number of portable toilets needed depends on the number of persons and the
frequency of emptying. BS6465– 1:2006 recommends a ratio of 1 toilet to 7 persons where portable
toilets are emptied once a week.

Men and women may use the same toilet, if it is in a lockable room and partitioned from any
urinals. Otherwise provide separate toilets. Adequate supplies of toilet paper should always be
available.

Sanitary waste disposal should be provided in facilities used by female workers.

Washing facilities

Provide washing facilities next to both toilets and changing areas. Consider placing them next to
rest areas if these are far from toilets or changing areas. They should include:

 a supply of clean hot and cold, or warm, water (which should be running water so far as is
reasonably practicable);
 soap or other suitable means of cleaning;
 towels or other suitable means of drying; n sufficient ventilation and lighting;
 sinks large enough to wash face, hands and forearms.

Men and women can share sinks used for washing hands, face and arms. Unisex shower facilities
can be provided if they are in a separate, lockable room, which can be used by one person at a
time.

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Assignment 1 2015
Showers used for particularly dirty work, or when workers are exposed to especially hazardous
substances (eg development of contaminated land, or demolition of old industrial buildings which
are contaminated with toxic substances etc), will need to be separate from the main facilities.

Specialist facilities are needed for certain activities, eg working with lead or asbestos or tunnelling
in compressed air.

Drinking water

A supply of wholesome drinking water should be readily available. Where possible, it should be
supplied direct from the mains. If water is stored, protect it from possible contamination and
make sure it is changed often enough to prevent it from becoming stale or contaminated. Where
necessary, clearly mark the drinking water supply to prevent it being confused with hazardous
liquids or water which is not fit to drink. Provide cups or other drinking vessels at the outlet,
unless the water is supplied in an upward jet, which can be drunk easily (eg a drinking fountain).

Changing rooms and lockers

Every site should have arrangements for securely storing personal clothing not worn on site and
for protective clothing needed for site work. Men and women should be able to change separately.
Separate lockers might be needed, although on smaller sites the site office may be a suitable
storage area provided it is kept secure. Where there is a risk of protective site clothing
contaminating everyday clothing, items should be stored separately.

Provision should be made to allow wet clothing to be dried. As a general rule clothing should not
be placed directly on heaters due to the risk of fire. If electrical heaters are used, they should be
properly ventilated and, if possible, fitted with a high temperature cut-out device.

Rest facilities

Rest facilities should provide shelter from wind and rain. The rest facilities should have adequate
numbers of tables, seating with backs, a means for heating water for drinks and for warming up
food (eg a gas or electrical heating ring or microwave oven) and be adequately heated. Rest areas
are not to be used to store plant, equipment or materials.

Smoking

Smoking is prohibited in enclosed public places and workplaces such as construction sites or
work vehicles.

Heating

Rest facilities will normally require heating. Using properly maintained electrical equipment can
eliminate the risks associated with LPG heaters. Inadequately ventilated LPG cookers and heaters

H. P. I. MADHUWANTHI/CSCT2014570 Page 18
 Assignment 1 2015
can produce carbon monoxide, with potentially fatal results. Flammable gas may escape from
leaking cylinders, which have not been properly turned off. If LPG is used reduce the risks by:

 using and storing the cylinders in safe, wellventilated places outside the accommodation
(including overnight) or in purpose-built ventilated storage areas;
 ensuring that the appliances have been properly installed, checked and maintained by a
competent person;
 providing adequate combustion ventilation (provide fixed grilles at high and low level);
 checking that the ventilation provided is not blocked, eg fixed grilles blocked by newspaper
or rags in cold weather to ’stop draughts’;
 checking that cylinders are properly turned off when not in use;
 using wall or ceiling-mounted carbon monoxide detectors.

Use of alternative facilities for transient construction sites

For the purpose of this, a transient construction site is either where short duration work (up to a
week) is carried out at one or many locations, or is of a longer duration carried out while moving
over a continuous geographical area, eg major roadworks, cable laying contracts etc.

In such cases, it may be appropriate to make arrangements to use facilities provided by the owner
of existing premises, in which the work is being done, local public facilities or the facilities of local
businesses. Clear agreement should be made with the provider of the facilities; it should not be
assumed that local commercial premises can be used without their agreement. In all cases the
standards above must be provided or made available. Facilities must be readily accessible to the
worksite, open at all relevant times, be at no cost to the workers, be of an acceptable standard in
terms of cleanliness and have handwashing facilities. Workers need to be made aware of the
arrangements to use them and be informed of their location.

1 Managing health and safety in construction. Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007.
Approved Code of Practice L144 HSE Books 2007 ISBN 978 0 7176 6223 4

While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the references listed in this publication, their
future availability cannot be guaranteed.

Further reading

Health and safety in construction HSG150 (Third edition) HSE Books 2006 ISBN 978 0 7176 6182 4 Fire
safety in construction work HSG168 HSE Books 2010 ISBN 978 0 7176 6345 3

BS 6465–1: 2006 Sanitary installations. Code of practice for the design of sanitary facilities and scales of
provision of sanitary and associated appliances

http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/cis59.pdf

H. P. I. MADHUWANTHI/CSCT2014570 Page 19
 Assignment 1 2015

FA C I L I T I E S F O R T H E D I F F E R E N T T Y P E S OF W O R K P L A C E S
The following table summarizes the facilities that should be provided for each type of workplace.
Refer to the sections as indicated in the table for more detail.
https://www.google.lk/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-
8#q=explain+the+responsibilities+for+providing+welfare+facilities+on+a+construction+site

[DOC]Facilities for Construction Sites - Safe Work Australia

Type of Change rooms Meal rooms Toilets Washing/ Drinking Tools/Personal

workplace showers water belongings
Type 1 As specified in As specified in As specified in As specified in As specified in As specified in
Major section 4.1 of this section 4.2 of this section 4.3 of this sections 4.4 and section 4.6 of this section 4.7 of this
construction Code Code Code 4.5 of this Code Code Code
Type 2 Ensure facilities Provide Provide access to Ensure facilities As specified in Provide lockable
Working are at the base. reasonable access toilet(s), or are provided at the section 4.6 of this chests for the
away from Alternatively, to a meal facility. provide access to base. Provide or Code security of
base provide Alternatively, portable toilet(s) arrange access personal
reasonable access provide mobile as specified in to hand washing belongings and
to change rooms. facilities, e.g. a section 4.3 of this facilities tools
Mobile facilities, caravan Code
e.g. a caravan,
may be provided
Type 3 Provide change Provide Provide access to Provide access to As specified in Provide lockable
Minor rooms if required reasonable access at least one hand washing section 4.6 of this chests for the
construction by the type of to a meal facility sewered, septic and shower Code security of
work or as if no existing or portable toilet as facilities if work personal
determined to be dining facilities specified in section required belongings and
reasonably are close by. 4.3 of this Code showering. tools
practicable. Alternatively, Alternatively,
Alternatively, provide mobile provide mobile
provide mobile facilities, e.g. a facilities, e.g. a
facilities, e.g. a caravan caravan with
caravan these facilities
Type 4 Provide access to Provide access to Provide access to Provide access to As specified in Type 1 or type 3
Building existing facilities. existing facilities. existing facilities. existing facilities. section 4.6 of this workplace
alterations If not available, If not available, If not available, If not available, Code provisions apply
type 1 or type 3 type 1 or type 3 type 1 or type 3 type 1 or type 3 depending on the
workplace workplace workplace workplace size of the
provisions apply, provisions apply, provisions apply, provisions apply, construction
depending on the depending on the depending on the depending on the
size of size of size of size of
construction construction construction construction
Type 5 Not applicable Provide access to Provide access to Provide access to As specified in Not applicable
Housing meal and shelter at least one hand washing as section 4.6 of this
construction facilities sewered, septic well as clean Code
including seating, or portable toilet water and soap.
a clean surface to as specified in
place food on and section 4.3 of this
a rubbish bin. Code.

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 Assignment 1 2015

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