As a consequence of this failure the resident of the property and her brother-in-law fell into one of the uncovered floor hatches and both sustained injuries.

Aberdeen Sheriff Court heard that on 19th and 20th February 2018 employees of the company were working at a residential property when they failed to put in place suitable and sufficient measures to prevent persons from falling into the uncovered floor hatches.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) concluded that there was nothing in place to prevent either the resident of the property or her brother-in-law from falling through the uncovered floor hatch at the rear of the property. If adequate barriers and physical warning signs had been in place around the uncovered floor hatch then these incidents would have been preventable.

R.B. Wilson (Electrical) Limited, of 1 East Craibstone Street, Aberdeen pled guilty to breaching Regulations 6(3) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 and was fined £24,000.

HSE inspector Elaine McAllister said: “This incident could so easily have been avoided by simply carrying out correct control measures and safe working practices. Companies should be aware that HSE will not hesitate to take appropriate enforcement action against those that fall below the required standard.”