The company had been issued with a prohibition notice after a HSE inspector drove through the area on 17th February 2022 and spotted the unsafe scaffolding its workers were using at the property.

The HSE inspector noted there were gaps in the scaffolding, putting the company’s staff at risk from falling at height.

RS Rendering Specialists had also failed to plan the work safely at the property and a mandatory weekly inspection of the scaffolding had not been carried out.

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The firm disregarded the notice while carrying out rendering works on a house in Belgrave Crescent, Eccles, Manchester — as the same HSE inspector drove past the property again a week later and noticed that two workers from the company were operating on the scaffolding it had been prohibited from using.

The company pleaded guilty to breaching Sections 4(1) and 6(3) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 and Section 33(1)(g) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.

The company was fined £3,000 and ordered to pay costs of £1,000 at Manchester Magistrates’ Court on 24th November 2023.

HSE inspector Phil Redman said: “We will not hesitate to prosecute companies who choose to ignore enforcement notices issued to prevent risks from falls from height or any other health and safety related matters.

“This case highlights how such actions will not be tolerated under any circumstances.”