Director banned after failing to pay health & safety fines

The Director of Allen and Hunt Construction Engineers Limited has been banned from forming another company following failure to pay health & safety fines.

Allen and Hunt Construction Engineers Limited, a specialist company in manufacturing and erecting steel-framed agricultural and industrial buildings, was found to be in breach of multiple health & safety rules in 2016, following a HSE investigation.

A worker had been injured on a site when carrying out repairs on a farm building in Buxton, falling through the roof and suffering life-changing injuries. Allen and Hunt Construction Engineers Limited were found to have breached several health and safety regulations, among which the HSE found that the company had failed to carry out health and safety plans for the site in Buxton, did not properly train the employee to carry out fragile roof work and equipment was inadequate and insufficient for the risks posed. The company was fined £274,671 in November 2016.

However, Allen and Hunt Construction Engineers Limited went into liquidation in December 2016 and Michael Allen told investigators that the business closed down because it could not afford to pay the fine imposed by the court. But further investigations by the Insolvency Service found that after the accident and to allow for a clear division between fabrication and installation activities, a new company was incorporated in October 2014. The new company carried out fabrication services, while the installation side of the business was wound down.

And if the fabrication contracts had remained within Allen and Hunt Construction Engineers Limited, the original company, there would have been sufficient funds to pay the fine.

Dave Elliott, Chief Investigator for the Insolvency Service, said: “Michael Allen had a lack of regard for the workers, which unfortunately resulted in a horrific injury for one person.

“Directors who fail to adhere to health and safety regulations to protect their employees and then fail to pay the fine can expect to face the consequences of a period of disqualification.”

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