• Heat health alert issued until Tuesday 23 June
• Employers have legal duties to protect workers from extreme heat
• Workers should talk to their employer if the temperature isn’t comfortable

Employers need to act now to make sure their workers are protected as a heat health alert has been issued for parts of the country until Tuesday 23 June.

That’s the message from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), the country’s workplace regulator, as summer arrives in the UK.

The regulator sees a surge in people seeking advice in periods of hot weather and, following the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) issuing the alert, is calling on employers to plan for and support those working in extreme heat. The regulator says doing so will keep workers healthy and safe while also maintaining productivity.

Employers must assess risks to the health and safety of their workers by law, including risks from extreme weather such as heatwaves. While there is no legal maximum temperature for workplaces, heat is classed as a hazard and should be treated like other hazards.

HSE says everyone – whether working indoors or outdoors – is at risk and employers should discuss with workers changes to manage the risk.

John Rowe, Deputy Director for Technical Support and Engagement for the Health and Safety Executive, said: “Last summer should have been a wake-up call for all employers. If we continue to experience hotter summers this could have a big impact on the workforce of this country, affecting everything from health of workers to productivity on construction sites.

“The risks to workers from extreme heat must be properly assessed. Practical steps can include providing adequate ventilation and shade and allowing enough breaks for workers to cool down. We provide detailed guidance on our website hse.gov.uk.

“We know all employers are under pressure and we don’t want to add to their burden but it’s vital they think hard now about simple and cheap measures they can put in place to support workers should we see extreme heat again this summer.”

Simple measures to consider include:

• Making sure workplace windows can be opened or closed to prevent hot air from circulating or building up.
• Using blinds or reflective film on workplace windows to shade workers from the sun.
• Placing workstations away from direct sunlight and heat sources.
• Putting insulation around hot pipes and machinery.
• Offering flexible working patterns so workers can work at cooler times of the day.
• Providing free access to drinking water.
• Relaxing dress codes if possible.
• Providing weather-appropriate personal protective equipment.
• Encouraging workers to remove personal protective equipment when resting (ideally in shaded areas) to cool off.
• Sharing information about the symptoms of heat stress and what to do if someone is affected.

Ends

Further information:

• The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety. We prevent work-related death, injury and ill health through regulatory actions that range from influencing behaviours across whole industry sectors through to targeted interventions on individual businesses. These activities are supported by globally recognised scientific expertise. hse.gov.uk
• HSE news releases are available at: http://press.hse.gov.uk
• HSE guidance can be found at: Temperature (hse.gov.uk)
• The UKHSA has issued a heat health alert for parts of the country until Tuesday 23 June 2026. Further information is available at ukhsa.gov.uk
• HSE is progressing the review of guidance and associated code of practice (ACOP) for the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992, ensuring our guidance reflects a modern workplace.
• The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 place an obligation on employers to provide a ‘reasonable’ temperature in indoor workplaces. Detailed guidance is available on HSE’s website including information on measures that can be taken to improve thermal comfort.
• There is a legal obligation under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 for all employers to make a suitable assessment of the risks to the health and safety of their workers and take action where necessary to minimise those risks as far as reasonably practicable. This would include the risks from extreme weather events, such as heatwaves.

• Maintenance worker killed while attempting to repair an industrial overhead door.
• HSE found company failed to maintain doors – despite two previous incidents – and lack of regular inspection had led to deterioration
• Employee killed found not to have been given suitable training to carry out high-risk repairs
• Company fined £400,000 after pleading guilty to health and safety offences.

An advertising printing company in Cardiff has been fined £400,000 after a maintenance worker suffered fatal injuries while attempting to repair an industrial overhead door.

On 5 September 2022, 59-year-old Anthony (“Tony”) Webb, an employee of GNW 2023 Realisations Limited, was carrying out maintenance work on an electrically operated sectional overhead door at the company’s manufacturing facility in Cardiff.

Mr Webb was attempting to re-tension the door springs using an industrial wrench when the tool slipped. The spring unwound in an uncontrolled manner, causing the wrench to be ejected and strike him. He suffered catastrophic injuries and died the following day.

In a victim personal statement, Tony’s wife Ewelina said:

“It is still very raw, and I feel like I am on a roller coaster. I still find it difficult to talk about Tony without breaking down crying.

“Tony and I were together 24/7. Tony liked fixing and repairing things for friends and neighbours. He was a cheeky chap, everyone loved him.

“I still meet up with Tony’s friends who are my friends also. I find it difficult when we talk about things and Tony isn’t there to experience it.

“Every day when I wake up it is like a cloud hanging over me. Some days I just cry without knowing I am going to.”

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found the company had failed to adequately maintain the electrically operated sectional overhead doors at the site despite two previous incidents involving failing doors that had injured employees.

The investigation found the company had not implemented a programme of routine inspection or preventative maintenance, allowing the doors to deteriorate into a poor condition.

HSE also found that Mr Webb had repeatedly been permitted to carry out repairs to the doors despite not being suitably trained to undertake the work. The company had failed to carry out a suitable risk assessment, establish a safe system of work, or provide appropriate tools and equipment.

HSE guidance states that powered sectional overhead doors are classed as work equipment and must comply with the requirements of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER). Equipment must be suitable for use, maintained in a safe condition and inspected by a competent person to ensure it remains safe.

Further guidance can be found here: Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER) – HSE.

GNW 2023 Realisations Limited, of Avenue Industrial Estate, Croescadarn Close, Cardiff, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and Regulation 5(1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998.

The company was fined £400,000 and ordered to pay £17,854 in costs at Merthyr Tydfil Magistrates’ Court on 17 June 2026.

HSE Inspector Georgina Bennett said:

“This incident was entirely avoidable. The maintenance of industrial doors is a high-risk activity involving stored energy within door springs;  it requires  specialist equipment and should only be carried out by people who are properly trained.

“This company failed to recognise those risks, and despite two previous incidents involving overhead doors, had not carried out regular maintenance to detect and deal with the deterioration in their condition.

“Were it not for these failures,Tony Webb’s death could have been prevented. Our thoughts remain with his loved ones as they mourn his loss.

This HSE prosecution was brought by HSE enforcement lawyer Alan Hughes.

Further information:

1. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety. We are dedicated to protecting people and places, and helping everyone lead safer and healthier lives.
2. More information about the legislation referred to in this case is available.
3. Further details on the latest HSE news releases is available.
4. Relevant guidance can be found here: Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER) – HSE
5. HSE does not pass sentences, set guidelines or collect any fines imposed. Relevant sentencing guidelines must be followed unless the court is satisfied that it would be contrary to the interests of justice to do so.  The sentencing guidelines for health and safety offences can be found here.

• Gary Saville instructed man to carry out roof work but wasn’t insured in the event of injury.
• Jacob Black, 31, fell through skylight and was taken to hospital by air ambulance.
• The roof work was carried out without any control measures in place.

An uninsured business owner from Lancashire has been given a suspended prison sentence after an employee suffered life changing injuries falling through a roof.

Gary Saville, 54, (trading as Bespoke Landscapes and Buildings) from Pressall in Poulton-Le-Fylde, was given an 12-month prison sentence, suspended for 18 months and told to complete 260 hours of unpaid work.

He had employed 31-year-old Jacob Black to replace skylights on a farm outbuilding in Pilling, Preston, on the 17 June 2024, but he fell through a fragile roof to the floor below while carrying out the job.

Mr Black, also from Pressall, was taken by air ambulance to Preston Hospital and as a result of the incident, required two lung operations, collarbone surgery as well as sustaining multiple bone fractures.

In a victim personal statement, Jacob Black said:

“I have always been an active person and prior to the accident I cycled and used to enjoy walking with the family.

“Now I am unable to walk long distances and it has to be flat as I become very breathless.

“I also have restricted movement due to the communal fractures of the shoulder, which has caused poor movement in my right arm and makes everyday things, such as using a knife and fork and carrying items much more difficult.”

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that Saville had instructed Mr Black to walk across the fragile roof surface without any control measures, such as crawling boards and netting, in place to prevent or protect against a fall, ultimately leading to him falling through a fragile roof light.

Falls from height remain a leading cause of workplace death and injury and HSE has detailed guidance eon working at height and it can be read at hse.gov.uk.

Gary Saville of Pressall, Poulton Le Fylde, Lancashire pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 6(3) of The Work at Height Regulations 2005 and was given a 12-month prison sentence suspended for 18 months and told to complete 260 hours of unpaid work. He was also ordered to pay £700 costs at Warrington Magistrates Court on 16 June 2026.

At an earlier hearing on 10 February 2025, Saville also pleaded guilty to not having Employers’ Liability Compulsory Insurance (ELCI) at the time of the incident. Most employers are required by law to provide ELCI cover to ensure successful civil claims can be met. Further guidance can be found on the HSE website at Employers’ Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969 – HSE.

Speaking after the incident, HSE Inspector Paul Taylor said:

“Falls from height remain the leading cause of fatalities and serious injuries in UK workplaces and Mr Black is lucky to be alive.

“No control measures were in place to ensure the work could be carried out safely.

“To make matters worse, the man who employed him to do the job didn’t even have insurance in place should anything have happened.

“Nobody should be put at risk through the failures of those in charge.”

This HSE prosecution was brought by enforcement lawyer Samantha Tiger and paralegal officer Stephen Grabe.

Further information:

1. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety. We are dedicated to protecting people and places, and helping everyone lead safer and healthier lives.
2. More information about the legislation referred to in this case is available.
3. Further details on the latest HSE news releases is available.
4. Relevant guidance can be found here – Work at height – HSE.
5. HSE does not pass sentences, set guidelines or collect any fines imposed. Relevant sentencing guidelines must be followed unless the court is satisfied that it would be contrary to the interests of justice to do so.  The sentencing guidelines for health and safety offences can be found here.

• Samson Containers Ltd left welders exposed to cancer-causing fumes without ventilation or protective equipment.
• Company failed to act on two separate HSE improvement notices issued in September 2024 and February 2025.
• Company also failed to provide health surveillance to monitor the hearing of their employees exposed to high levels of noise.

A Lancashire manufacturer of skips and metal containers has been fined £30,000 after repeatedly failing to protect its workers from carcinogenic welding fumes at its site in Thornton-Cleveleys.

Despite being served with an Enforcement Notice by HSE inspectors on two occasions, Samson Containers Ltd continued to carry out mild steel welding without adequate control measures to protect their employees. Inspectors also found the company failed to meet it duty to monitor the health of workers exposed to high levels of noise – risking long-term harm.

During a visit to the site on 29 August 2024, Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspectors identified several issues including high-intensity welding without local exhaust ventilation (LEV), inadequate welfare facilities, and a lack of assessment of noise risk, along with other health and safety issues on site. Multiple improvement notices were served.

Inspectors returned on multiple occasions to assess compliance, but found that the company had done nothing to comply with the notices relating to welding fume control and health surveillance for noise. This failure left employees exposed to carcinogenic welding fumes and at risk of becoming seriously ill. The company also failed to provide health surveillance to monitor the hearing of their employees exposed to high levels of noise throughout the shift.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer advises that exposure to mild steel welding fumes can cause lung cancer and possibly kidney cancer in humans. To control the risk, suitable ventilation must be present. Where this ventilation does not adequately control exposure, respiratory protective equipment (RPE) should be provided. Welding should not be undertaken without these control measures in place. This is applicable to welding indoors and outdoors.

The Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005, Regulation 9 (1) requires employers to provide employees with health surveillance involving hearing checks where they are regularly exposed to high levels of noise or where employees are particularly at risk e.g. pre‑existing hearing loss or sensitivity to noise. Health surveillance helps employers to identify early signs of hearing damage, prevent further deterioration by prompting action, and making sure that their noise controls measures are working effectively.

The company Samson Containers Limited was found guilty at Warrington Magistrates’ Court of failing to comply with two Improvement Notices contrary to Section 33(1)(g) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. The company was fined £30,000 and ordered to pay £4571 in costs along with a victim surcharge of £2000 on 16 June 2026.

HSE Inspector Gemma Feerick said:

“This was a company that put its workers at risk of serious, long-term health conditions because it repeatedly failed to get the basics right – even when expressly served with notices to put proper controls in place.

“These fines should send a clear message that HSE takes failure to comply with enforcement notices extremely seriously and will act against companies and individuals who fail to protect the health and safety of their employees.”

This HSE prosecution was brought by HSE Enforcement Lawyer Julian White and Paralegal Officer Stephen Grabe.

Further Information

1. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety. We are dedicated to protecting people and places, and helping everyone lead safer and healthier lives.
2. More information about the legislation referred to in this case is available.
3. Further details on the latest HSE news releases is available.
4. Relevant guidance can be found here:

• Safety Bulletin 15: HSE Guidance welding fume 2019 – GOV.UK
• Welding fume control
• L108: Controlling noise at work

5. HSE does not pass sentences, set guidelines or collect any fines imposed. Relevant sentencing guidelines must be followed unless the court is satisfied that it would be contrary to the interests of justice to do so.  The sentencing guidelines for health and safety offences can be found here.

• Dangerous boiler installation led to gas leak which ‘could easily have caused an explosion’.
• Tenant in Birmingham property realised unregistered handyman Jaroslaw Mazan had lied about being on the Gas Safe Register.
• Unqualified gas work can lead to gas leaks, fires, explosions, and carbon monoxide poisoning.

A self-employed handyman has been sentenced after carrying illegal gas work on a property in Birmingham after he falsely claimed to be on the Gas Safe Register. The work resulted in several defects, including a gas leak, which inspectors from Gas Safe Register branded an ‘immediate danger to life’.

In November 2023 Jaroslaw Mazan was hired to carry out the work by the landlords of the property.  The tenant witnessed him undertaking gas work and specifically installing the boiler, and realised that Mazan had lied about being registered with Gas Safe when they could find no evidence of this on the Gas Safe Register website.

An inspector from Gas Safe Register attended the property in December 2023 to carry out an inspection of the gas work, finding an immediately dangerous gas leak on the pipework to the boiler and several other, possibly dangerous defects.

This prompted an investigation by the Health & Safety Executive (HSE), which found that Jaroslaw Mazan carried out gas work without being competent to do so and without being registered on the Gas Safe Register.

HSE guidance states that only individuals who are on the Gas Safe Register should carry out gas work and that this work must be in accordance with appropriate standards. This guidance can be found here: Safety in the installation and use of gas systems and appliances.

While in this case nobody was injured, carrying out gas work without registration is illegal and potentially extremely dangerous. Unqualified work can lead to gas leaks, fires, explosions, and carbon monoxide poisoning.

At Dudley Magistrates’ Court on Friday 12 June, Jaroslaw Mazan pleaded guilty to breaching Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998, Regulation 3(3), Mr Mazan received a 26-week suspended sentence and was ordered to pay £500 in compensation to the tenant of the property. HSE does not determine sentences, which are set by the Court.

HSE Inspector Harry Shaw said:

“This dangerous boiler fitting was a disaster waiting to happen, and the resultant gas leak could easily have caused a lethal explosion.

“The tenant did the right thing – and quite possibly saved themselves from serious harm – by checking the Gas Safe register and alerting inspectors when they realised Jaroslaw Mazan was unregistered.

“My message to anyone getting gas work carried out is simple; always use a Gas Safe-registered engineer, and if you aren’t sure of someone’s credentials, it only takes two minutes to check.”

The HSE prosecution was brought by enforcement lawyer Matthew Reynolds and paralegal officer Stephen Grabe.

Further information:

1. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety. We are dedicated to protecting people and places and helping everyone lead safer and healthier lives.
2. More information about the legislation referred to in this case is available.
3. Further details on the latest HSE news releases is available.
4. Relevant guidance can be found here L56 – “Safety in the installation and use of gas systems and appliances” Safety in the installation and use of gas systems and appliances
5. HSE does not pass sentences, set guidelines or collect any fines imposed. Relevant sentencing guidelines must be followed unless the court is satisfied that it would be contrary to the interests of justice to do so.  The sentencing guidelines for health and safety offences can be found here.