Two partners from Sabar Bros, Wexham Road, Slough, have been fined a total of £96,000 after an employee fell down an open lift shaft.
Brothers Sabar Hussain and Mr Ayub Hussain pleaded guilty in December 2014 to breaching the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 (LOLER) and the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 by not ensuring the lift at their building was thoroughly examined as required by law. They were sentenced on Wednesday 29 April at Reading Crown Court to a fine of £42,200 and ordered to pay Slough Borough Council costs of £54,000.
Slough Borough Council took the prosecution after an employee at the company; Mr Khaliq Hussain fell more than 20 feet down an open lift shaft on 11 June 2011. The shaft was open due to a defect in the lift door safety mechanism which had been damaged. The lift was on the first floor when Mr Khaliq Hussain entered at the ground floor, falling into the basement.
The employee suffered serious and permanent injuries during the fall including head injuries, leaving him needing full time care.
Under law, the partners of Sabar Bros, were required to ensure lifting equipment – including passenger and good lifts – were ‘thoroughly examined’ every 12 months and every time anything happened which was likely to affect the safety of the lift. This had not happened.
The guilty pleas in December 2014 were heard at Slough Magistrates Court. Magistrates referred the case to Reading Crown Court for sentencing due to the seriousness of the offences.
