A building contractor has been fined £600,000 after failing to manage the fire risk at a construction site in Brentwood, Essex
In January 2018, S&S Quality Building Contractors Limited was inspected by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to investigate health and safety failings after it was reported that people were sleeping on a construction site at Regent House, Brentwood, Essex.
The investigation identified that the environment at the site was poorly managed and the work was being carried out in an unsafe manner which could have resulted in a fire, putting workers and members of the public who were visiting show flats outside of business hours at risk.
Risks of fire had been identified across several construction sites
The building contractor had previously been subject to HSE interventions after risks of fire had been identified across several sites over several years.
S&S Quality Building Contractors Limited of Hawthorn Business Park, Granville Road, London, pleaded guilty to breaching 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 at Basildon Crown Court on 25 October 2022. The company was fined £600,000 and ordered to pay costs of £36,894.
The director of S&S Quality Building Contractors Limited was fined and ordered to complete 100 hours of upaid work
Evidence gathered during the investigation indicated that the company director Shlomo Pines, of St. Johns Road, Golders Green, London, regularly attended the Regent House site and failed to implement improvements from previous HSE interventions.
Mr Pines pleaded guilty to contravening Section 37 of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. He received a community order to complete 100 hours of unpaid work and was fined £4,200.
HSE Inspector Prentiss Clarke-Jones said: “S&S Quality Building Contractors Limited completely ignored the importance of fire safety measures on a construction site led by a director who wilfully chose to ignore the risks despite evidence he knew how to make things safe. This unsurprisingly resulted in a site where risks were also ignored by his workers.
“Follow the guidance, get competent advice and take responsibility that the law requires at the very least, or someone may get hurt, which thankfully did not eventuate here.”
