Unsafe scaffold work: suspended prison sentence
Health and Safety Executive v Steven David Connolly (2018) Medway magistrates’ court, June 26
Statutory reference: regulations 6 and 8 of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 (WAH).
Steven David Connolly, a scaffolder, has been sentenced following unsafe working practices.
The facts
In August 2016 Connolly was working at a site in Chatham. An HSE inspector observed him using unsafe working practices when erecting scaffolding.
He was at serious risk of falling from the scaffold. He refused to work safely and abused the inspector. He left the scaffold in an unsafe and incomplete condition with no warning for subsequent users. He refused to provide his identity.
The decision
Connolly was sentenced to 24 weeks imprisonment suspended for 18 months. He was also ordered to be electronically tagged and to be subject to a curfew between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. at his home address, plus £2000 costs.