A solar panel installation firm has been fined £120,000 after one of its workers fell and was seriously injured while working on the roof of a home. The 23-year-old employee broke his leg after sliding from the roof and falling four metres.
He was working for EE Renewables Limited on December 16, 2022, when the fall took place on Sherfield English Road, in Salisbury, Wiltshire. A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found the business had not properly planned the work at height and failed to take suitable steps to prevent a fall.
The company had been hired by the homeowner to move nine solar panels higher up on the roof. The worker was adjusting one of the solar panels when he slipped and fell, breaking his femur.
EE Renewables Limited was fined £120,000 and ordered to pay £4,716 in costs at Swindon Magistrates’ Court on Monday, December 23, 2024. It pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.
The company had been hired to move solar panels on the homeowner’s roof in Salisbury
(Image: Health and Safety Executive)
HSE inspector Sam Applebee said: “EE Renewables Limited did not properly plan this work so it could be carried out in a safe manner. There were inadequate means of protecting the workers from falling off the roof, with the company failing to provide edge protection.
“Working at height remains one of the biggest causes of injuries and fatalities in Britain, so it is important that companies ensure they implement the correct control measures and safe working practices.”