TV star’s death puts working at height in the spotlight
The death of George Gilbey, star of Channel 4’s Gogglebox following a fall from height, has once again put the issue of safe working at height practices in the spotlight. Forty-year-old George Gilbey, a self-employed electrician, suffered fatal injuries when he fell while working at height.
Following the tragic news, the Access Industry Forum and the No Falls Foundation are demanding action. The No Falls Foundation is a charity devoted exclusively to the work at height sector. The Foundation is dedicated to preventing falls from height and helping people affected by the life-changing consequences of a fall.
Falls from height are the leading cause of workplace fatalities in the UK. A total of 40 people lost their lives in 2022/23, with over 5,000 people left injured after falling from a height at their workplace.
According to a Labour Force Survey, the number of falls over the last ten years may be as high as 425,000. This issue is also an economic one, with estimates showing 992,000 working days were lost through non-fatal falls from height in 2022 alone, with the total cost of falls in 2022/23 over an estimated £847 million when considering the costs to employers, the individual and government.
The No Falls Foundation is working in partnership with stakeholders such as the Access Industry Forum (AIF), other trade associations, professional bodies and organisations who are committed to preventing falls from height to make workplaces safer.
As part of this, they are calling for a new, simplified system of reporting to accurately reflect the causes of workplace accidents so that targeted measures can be implemented to prevent falls from height.
Accidents at work are required by law to be reported by employers through the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), although the AIF argues that the way in which these incidents are recorded provides little information to help prevent future falls.
The AIF says the current reporting system makes it difficult to pinpoint the underlying causes of falls from height and to identify whether they are related to issues such as the wrong equipment being selected, a lack of training, inadequate planning or any other variety of contributing factors.
For employees to work safely at height they must be properly trained and educated on the risks they will face and best practices to overcome these. Once initial certification is achieved, refresher training should be conducted within the recommended timeframes, although shorter, more frequent training can be beneficial in ensuring safe practices are consistently followed. When employees regularly complete the same tasks there is the risk that they may go into ‘auto-pilot’ mode. This can result in complacency as employees become desensitised to the dangers they face and therefore make more risky decisions. To reduce complacency, employees should frequently be reminded of the risks posed by their routine tasks. Competence in the workplace begins with thorough and consistent training that is not only proven and to recognised industry standards but is intrinsic to a working career. There are still many who trained ‘on the job’ for their trade in their 20s and have never received any formal training since.
This year, the No Falls Foundation is launching its first ever ‘No Falls Week’, a powerful campaign dedicated to promoting safe working at height. Taking place between 13 and 17 May 2024, No Falls Week’s mission is simple yet crucial; to raise awareness about the importance of safe working at height, prevent falls and ensure everyone that works at height comes down safely.
Hannah Williams, Charity Manager, said:
“Everyone who needs to work at height should be able to work safely and return home unharmed at the end of every shift. Unlike most other types of workplace injuries, the consequences of a fall from height are usually life-changing for the person involved, with many unlikely to return to their previous occupation, as well as having long-term consequences for employers, colleagues and families. Whether you work in construction, manufacturing agriculture or any other sector, No Falls Week is an opportunity for everyone to shine a spotlight onto the mental, physical and societal consequences of working at height accidents.”
International Workplace’s free-to-download Working at Height: A Manager’s Guide looks at the definition of working at height and advises how managers can more effectively control it.
Our Working at Height Awareness course helps learners understand the dangers associated with working at heights and implement ways to minimise and control the risks. Find out more here.
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