No Falls Week aims to tackle deadly risks

With falls from height accounting for more than half of construction worker deaths last year, this year’s No Falls Week campaign (12–16 May 2025) is urging UK construction firms to make safe working at height a top priority.

Data from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) shows that 52% of all fatal accidents to construction workers in 2023–2024 were caused by falls from height. The campaign, run by the No Falls Foundation, aims to raise awareness of the issue and promote safe practices. Free resources and materials are available from the campaign’s online hub to support participation.

The safety message comes against a backdrop of recent HSE prosecutions illustrating the cost of failure. In one tragic case, an untrained labourer working cash-in-hand fell to his death from an unsafe scaffold in Bradford. Builder Sarabjit Singh was sentenced to six months in prison, suspended for 12 months, and ordered to complete 100 hours of unpaid work. The court heard that ladders provided were defective and not properly secured, and scaffold safety gates had been tied open.

Another fatal incident occurred in Dudley, where 42-year-old Maciej Rozanski fell more than six metres through a fragile roof while dismantling machinery. The company responsible, Surface Technik (Old Hill) Ltd, was fined £90,000. Its operations manager, Robert Hammond, was also fined after admitting he had failed in his duty to ensure the work was carried out safely.

HSE principal inspector Paul Thompson said: “This is an extremely tragic case where a vulnerable person seeking an opportunity to work sadly didn’t make it home that evening. Those putting people to work need to fully assess and control the risks from working at height.”

The HSE continues to remind employers that all work at height must be properly planned, supervised, and carried out by competent people using the correct equipment. Detailed guidance is available on the HSE website, covering roof work, fragile surfaces, mobile elevating work platforms (MEWPs), scaffolds, ladders, and more.