This case concerned a reference by the Director of Public Prosecutions of a sentence imposed by the Crown Court which, it was argued, was unduly lenient.

The respondent had been convicted of manslaughter, as well as a number of health and safety offences arising out of the construction of an agricultural shed. In short, no safety measures had been implemented and no discussion about safety with the workers (all of whom were Bulgarian nationals) took place. Evidence was also heard that no safety harnesses had been provided to other workers for the previous weeks of work. After a period of very heavy rainfall, sheeting on the shed roof became extremely slippy. Tragically, one worker died after sliding off the roof and no practical safety measures had been made available to prevent the accident.

Furthermore, no risk assessment had been carried out as required under the health and safety legislation. The Court methodically approached the sentencing exercise, noting that the fatal consequence of the offences must be reflected in the sentence. The Court substituted the originally imposed suspended sentence for a custodial sentence of 24 months.

Practical Lessons

The sentencing remarks should be read in full to fully understand the decision, but a few salient points emerge. The Court saw fit to make reference to the vulnerability of casual labourers exposed to such dangerous working environments. The responsibility for employers to ensure the safety of their workers in is heightened by the fact that at a time when jobs are at a premium such workers are less likely to protest at the shortcomings in safety standards.

Also, the court was appalled at a statement from the respondent in the lower court that the practices which led to the fatality were widespread in the industry. Stressing the importance of the deterrence factor in its judgment the court called for a radical alteration of such practices and hoped that the decision would in some way contribute to that.

In concluding, the court fairly described the respondent as decent and trying to genuinely make a living, but warned that dangerous shortcuts taken to reduce costs were unacceptable, especially given the tragic consequences that ensued. http://www.bailii.org/nie/cases/NICA/2017/29.html