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Jemma Brimblecombe
On 3 March 2023, DH Willis & Sons Limited and company directors Timothy and Mark Willis were sentenced following the death of an employee, and family member, Henry Willis. The company was convicted of corporate manslaughter and fined £335,000. The company directors, who both pleaded guilty for failing to discharge the duty of general health, safety and welfare to an employee, each received suspended sentences.
Henry Willis, the son and nephew of company directors Timothy and Mark Willis respectively, died whilst working for the family business in January 2019. The company, DH Willis & Sons, specialised in agricultural construction and was contracted to undertake repairs to a barn roof in North Yorkshire. Henry was assisting from a metal basket attached to a JCB telehandler when a gust of wind caught a roof panel he was passing to a colleague causing him to lose his balance. Henry fell 20 feet from the telehandler and suffered a serious head injury which he died from two days later.
A joint investigation was conducted into the incident by North Yorkshire Police and the Health and Safety Executive (“HSE”). The investigation found that the metal basket did not comply with health and safety regulations and that equipment necessary for the work had not been used on the site.
The company had received previous notices for unsafe working practices from HSE in 2014 and 2016. In 2014 an inspector for HSE found that a home-made cage fitted to a telehandler, similar to this case, did not meet safety standards. And in 2016 the company was issued with a prohibition notice for working unsafely whilst on a roof with no means of preventing a fall.
Following the incident in 2019, an immediate prohibition notice was served on the company by HSE and it was ordered to destroy two metal baskets which had been used as attachments to teleporter vehicles.
Charges were brought against the company for corporate manslaughter and against Timothy and Mark Willis for gross negligence manslaughter and health and safety breaches. The company directors pleaded not guilty to charges of manslaughter and were cleared after a trial.
At court, Judge Christopher Butcher accepted that Henry Willis had not been told to go into the basket before his death but highlighted that there was evidence of cost cutting at the expense of safety: “[there was] no written risk assessment, no plan, unsuitable baskets were used and the safety harness was old. There were no scaffolding, nets or crawling boards, despite £1,000 to cover these being added to the client’s quotation”. He added that the “breaches were endemic and persistent, and these procedures were not difficult or costly [to impose]”.
The company was found guilty of corporate manslaughter and fined £335,000 plus costs of £4,000. Timothy Willis was sentenced to 11 months in prison, suspended for two years, and ordered to do 115 hours of unpaid work. Mark Willis was sentenced to 23 weeks imprisonment, suspended for two years, and ordered to complete 100 hours of unpaid work. Both directors were given a 20-day rehabilitation work order and ordered to pay £1,000 in court costs. The company was also given a publicity order due to the scale of the unsafe working conditions.
As discussed previously here, corporate manslaughter can be difficult to prove, and has been under-used since it came into force. Since the legislation was introduced in 2008 there have been 39 cases brought of which 7 resulted in acquittals. Nevertheless, in recent years there has been a noticeable increase in health and safety prosecutions brought against directors and other senior managers, rather than the company alone. There is also evidence to suggest that the rate at which individual directors are being sentenced to prison for health and safety offences has increased since the health and safety sentencing guidelines were introduced in February 2016. Directors and senior managers would be well-advised to heed the warning that those investigating fatal accidents are more likely than ever to focus on the role individuals play in managing the health and safety of their workforce.
FURTHER INFORMATION
If you have any questions about the content covered in this blog, please contact Melinka Berridge, Katie Dean or any member of our corporate manslaughter and health and safety team.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Melinka Berridge is a Partner at Kingsley Napley. She has particular expertise in the fields of health & safety, regulatory enforcement and criminal private prosecutions. Melinka provides regulatory advice and representation to those that operate in the built environment and leisure and hospitality sectors.
Katie Dean is a trainee solicitor at Kingsley Napley and is currently in her third seat with the Public Law team, having completed her second seat with the Employment team and her first seat with the Medical Negligence and Personal Injury team.
We welcome views and opinions about the issues raised in this blog. Should you require specific advice in relation to personal circumstances, please use the form on the contact page.
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