Is your business putting employees at risk? Learn from the £63,000 fine imposed on London Developer.

In a landmark case that highlights the importance of adhering to health and safety regulations, Nofax Enterprises Limited, a London-based property development firm, has been fined £63,000 and ordered to pay an additional £88,812.68 in costs following a series of serious safety violations at a construction site in Dalston, London. This penalty, handed down at Southwark Crown Court on March 18, 2025, underscores the critical importance of effective health and safety management in any business, regardless of industry.

The investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) was prompted by a series of inspections conducted between 2020 and 2021 at a construction site on Dalston Lane, where Nofax Enterprises was building a four-storey structure that was to include nine flats and a basement youth club. The HSE’s investigation revealed a number of significant safety failures at the site, which ultimately led to two site shutdowns and numerous enforcement actions.

Among the numerous safety violations found at the site were major concerns related to working at height, fire safety, and exposure to hazardous materials such as silica dust. These risks posed serious threats to the health and safety of the workers at the site and should have been properly managed and mitigated by the developer.

In addition to the primary safety violations, the HSE identified further issues that contributed to the company’s systemic health and safety failures. These included insufficient protection against wood dust, which can cause respiratory issues, as well as inadequate COVID-19 precautions during the pandemic, which put workers at unnecessary risk of contracting the virus. The company also failed to provide basic welfare provisions for its staff, including proper access to rest areas, clean drinking water, and sanitary facilities.

As a result of the multiple safety violations, the HSE issued a total of nine enforcement notices throughout the year, leading up to now, five of which were prohibition notices that ordered the company to stop certain unsafe practices immediately. Despite these warnings, subsequent inspections revealed that Nofax Enterprises continued to fail to address the underlying safety management issues. This demonstrated a systemic failure in how the company approached health and safety, despite numerous interventions by the HSE.

The penalties imposed on Nofax Enterprises were significant: the £63,000 fine and the additional costs of £88,812.68 serve as a reminder of the financial and reputational damage that can result from failing to meet health and safety obligations. The company’s guilty plea to breaches of Sections 2(1) and 3(1) of the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 highlights the legal responsibilities that employers have to ensure the safety and well-being of their workers.

The judge in the case condemned Nofax Enterprises for its ongoing failure to prioritize health and safety, describing the company’s actions as a “systemic failure” of health and safety oversight. Despite the HSE’s repeated interventions and enforcement notices, the company continued to operate under hazardous conditions that exposed workers to unacceptable risks. The judge’s comments reinforce the notion that businesses must treat health and safety with the utmost seriousness, not only as a regulatory obligation but as a core responsibility to protect employees.

Gordon Nixon, the HSE inspector overseeing the case, was quoted as saying, "Nofax Enterprises demonstrated a blatant disregard for the safety of its workers, consistently falling short of basic health and safety requirements." This statement illustrates the critical role that health and safety oversight plays in maintaining a safe working environment. A failure to prioritize these issues can result in devastating consequences, both for the workers affected and the business itself.

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