Alert Made to Verify Gas Contractors Identity at Gas Safe Register before Hiring
Posted in Entrepreneurs, Health Issues, Legal Counsel Resources on January 25th, 2012
Andrew Davies a plumber was punished by the Ipswich Magistrates Court recently after he issued a fake registration number to an eatery in Ipswich following the fixtures and check he carried out of the gas appliances at the eatery in July 2010. Subsequent to this episode, an alert has been made to all who hire the services of gas contractors to check their authorizations before giving them any work.
After getting to know about this incident, the Ipswich Borough Council’s environmental health officers in cooperation with the Gas Safe officers carried out an inquiry at the premises of the Kwan Thai eatery in Ipswich. They found that Mr Davies from Ipswich had done some gas fittings and checking of appliances at Kwan Thai following which he confirmed that the appliances were safe and gave a bogus registration number. However, the inquiry found Mr Davies to be incompetent to give such a safety confirmation as he was not qualified enough and not listed in the Gas Safe register. The work carried out by Mr Davies was then double-checked by a skilled engineer who negated the safety of the gas work. He found the possessions at the eatery and lives of the people to be in jeopardy due to the unsafe work done by Mr Davies. Viewing this, the HSE served Mr Davies with a prohibition notice on March 9, 2011, which debarred him from continuing the gas work until he is listed in the Gas Safe record.
The Ipswich Magistrates’ Court at a recent court hearing found Mr Davies guilty of Section 3 (2) of the Act 1974 Health & Safety at Work etc and Regulations 1998 of Regulation 3 (3) of the Gas Safety (Installation & Use) violation. Mr Davies who was present at the hearing, also confessed to the accusations. The Court thereafter ordered him to complete 100 hrs of community service, in addition to paying a charge of £3,527.50.
Paul Johnston, Chief Executive of Gas Safe Register commented on how people should not blindly accept the words of the person employed as a gas contractor. Adding further, he informed people to ascertain if the person engaged as a gas contractor is genuine by scrutinizing his name on the Gas Safe register along with examining his identity card when he arrives to carry out his work.
All organisations need to be sure that they are giving the correct instructions to managers when dealing with Health and Safety and Premises Management Law. IOSH qualifications and IEMA environmental management certifications (see IEMA Classroom) can be obtained from courses offered by Workplace Law.