• 19-year-old labourer died after falling six floors from a ventilation shaft
• HSE investigation found that the ventilation shaft had been covered only by a sheet of plasterboard and roofing foam
• Jerram Falkus Construction Limited fined £40,200

A construction firm has been fined £40,200 after a teenage labourer died falling down a ventilation shaft on a London building site.

Renols Lleshi, 19, was helping to dismantle scaffolding on the 12th floor roof garden of a block of flats being built at the Ark Soane Academy site, Mill Hill Road, London W3 on 5 July 2023. As he stepped onto a ventilation shaft the covering gave way, and he fell six floors to his death.

Renols father said “My family and I are devastated by the loss of Renols. To know that his death was caused by an accident which was entirely avoidable only makes our loss even harder to cope with.

“We are grateful to the Health & Safety Executive for their efforts to investigate the accident and prosecute one of those responsible for Renols’s death.  However, nothing anybody can do can bring our loved one back or lessen our grief in any way.”

A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found that the ventilation shaft had been covered only by a sheet of plasterboard and roofing foam. Routine inspections of the building did not include the roof garden area, meaning the inadequate covering went undetected and no warning was given to the scaffolding team.

HSE guidance on working at height states that employers should carry out as much work as possible from the ground and ensure workers can safely access and leave areas where work at height is required. Equipment used for working at height must be suitable, stable and strong enough for the task and properly maintained.

Employers and those in control of work at height must ensure activities are properly planned, supervised and carried out by competent people, including the use of appropriate equipment.

Jerram Falkus Construction Limited pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 4(1) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005. The company was fined £42,200, a surcharge of £2000 and ordered to pay £5000 in costs at City of London Magistrates Court on 18 March 2026.

HSE Inspector Natalie Prince said: “Falls from height are one of the biggest causes of workplace fatalities and major injuries. This was a wholly avoidable incident that led to the death of a young man.

My thoughts are with Renols family and friends.”

This prosecution was brought by HSE Enforcement Lawyer Arfaq Nabi and Senior Paralegal Manager 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 are 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.