HSECaton · Prosecution8 November 2026 · 3 min read

£20,000 fine after worker falls through fragile barn roof

A worker suffered fractures after falling about 10 metres while replacing a damaged skylight on a barn roof.

Workers in protective equipment carry out repair work around a skylight on a fragile barn roof with roof protection visible. — Illustration

Fine: £20,000
Fall distance: Approximately 10 metres
Injuries: Fractures to ribs, vertebrae and pelvis
Court costs: £4,955

What HSE said

A construction and landscaping company has been fined £20,000 after a worker fell through the fragile roof of a barn while replacing a damaged skylight. The incident happened on 24 February 2025. The worker suffered fractures to his ribs, vertebrae and pelvis after falling approximately 10 metres.

The HSE prosecution report says its investigation found that the company had not adequately planned the work or ensured appropriate control measures were in place to prevent the worker falling through the fragile roof. It also found that workers had not received sufficient training to ensure they were competent to use the control measures identified in the company’s risk assessment.

The company pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. It was fined £20,000 and ordered to pay £4,955 in costs at Warrington Magistrates’ Court on 3 November 2026.

HSE inspector Matthew Shepherd said: "Falls from height remain one of the leading causes of workplace fatalities." HSE said work on fragile roofs presents significant risks and that suitable precautions must be in place before work begins.

The lines that were missing from the RAMS

The findings point first to a planning gap. For roof work, the RAMS should have set out how the work would be planned, supervised and carried out by competent people, as required by the principles described by HSE under the Work at Height Regulations 2005.

The control measures were not adequately put in place to prevent a fall through the fragile roof. HSE’s Health and safety in roof work guidance identifies falls through fragile materials, including roof lights and asbestos cement roofing sheets, as a major cause of deaths in roof work. The RAMS therefore needed to identify the fragile surface and specify suitable and sufficient measures before access or work started.

Training was another missing line. The investigation found that workers had not received sufficient training to ensure they were competent in using the control measures identified in the risk assessment. The RAMS should have been supported by arrangements showing how that competence would be established for the planned task.

What this means for a RAMS

For work on a fragile roof, check that the RAMS describes the task clearly, including the damaged skylight or other roof feature involved, and records why work at height is necessary. The plan should identify the fragile roof surface and the risk of falling through it before work begins.

Under the Work at Height Regulations 2005, check that the RAMS sets out suitable and sufficient measures to prevent a fall liable to cause personal injury, so far as is reasonably practicable. The document should say what control measures will be used, rather than relying only on a general warning about fragile roofing.

Check who will supervise the work and how the people carrying it out will be shown to be competent to use the identified control measures. The HSE roof-work guidance covers work including repair and maintenance, and is intended for people planning, arranging or supervising roof work.

Finally, check that the arrangements in the RAMS are in place before the work starts and that the risk assessment, control measures and training arrangements describe the same task. This case shows the importance of joining those three parts together for fragile-roof work.