Contractor fined after allowing migrant workers to sleep on site

A Hull building contractor has been fined after endangering the safety of five Polish workers by allowing them to sleep on a site with flammable materials present.

Asaad Al-Helu was fined £1,000 and ordered to pay costs of £1149 at Hull magistrates' court on 31 March, after pleading guilty to two health and safety offences.

The contractor was working on a site in Hull where various flammable materials, including wood and rubbish, plus an unsafe electrical system, were present. The court heard that there were no means of escape, or of raising the alarm in the event of a fire, but workers were still allowed to smoke and drink on site, as well as sleep there at night.

The Health & Safety Executive was alerted to the situation by Hull City Council and investigated the premises in February 2008. Asaad Al-Helu was immediately served with two Prohibition Notices relating to working at height and the safety of the electrical fixtures.

On a subsequent visit in March 2008, the HSE served a further Prohibition Notice stopping all work, as “there was nobody competent on the site to manage the construction work safely”.

It was found that Asaad Al-Helu had no background in construction and had failed to prepare a construction plan before the start of the work.

Asaad Al-Helu pleaded guilty to two offences under s33(1) of the HSWA 1974: a breach of reg. 23(1)(a) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007, for failing to prepare a construction plan; and a failure to discharge his duty under s3(2) of the HSWA not to expose persons not in his employment to risks to their health and safety.

HSE inspector John Rowe said it was the first time he had ever come across workers sleeping on a site. He said: “These five construction workers were allowed to sleep on the site at night, which exposed them to fatal injuries in the foreseeable event of a fire. One carelessly discarded cigarette could have had serious and possibly fatal consequences, not only for themselves but also for local residents.

“Generally, standards of work and preparation on the site fell far short of the industry norm. The risks were foreseeable and straightforward to avoid.”