A builder has appeared in court after it was found that his workers had no access to toilet or washing facilities.
The HSE decided to prosecute Michael Connolly, from Littleborough, Lancashire, after he ignored warnings to improve conditions for his employees, who were working to convert a house into flats and shops.
The HSE served three improvement notices and two prohibition notices on Mr Connolly after its inspectors carried out a visit to the site and found no toilet or washing facilities as well as live wires sticking out of plug sockets and unsafe scaffolding. Despite revisiting the site over the following 10 weeks, they found no improvement in facilities for workers.
Mr Connolly was fined £400 and ordered to pay £1,000 in costs after failing to comply with the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007 and the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.
HSE Inspector Alan Pojur said after hearing in Rochdale: “In failing to provide basic amenities like hot water, especially when workers would have been covered in building site dust and plaster, Mr Connolly showed a complete lack of regard for the welfare of the people he employed.”