Construction directors invited to live PACE interview

Safety & Health Practitioner

The HSE is inviting representatives of the construction industry to witness a live Police and Criminal Evidence (PACE) interview to show how company representatives may be interviewed should an employee get injured while working for them.

 

Working Well Together, a campaign put in place to improve health and safety in the construction industry, has organised the half-day event Wrong Direction, Don’t Fall for It in Derbyshire on 6 December.

 

Falls are the biggest cause of fatal injury in Britain’s workplaces and account for more than half of construction workplace deaths. More than 4,000 major injuries, such as broken bones or fractured skulls are reported to the HSE each year by the construction industry. 

 

The event, presented by HSE inspectors and lawyers, will see the director of a fictional company be interviewed under PACE conditions in front of the audience. The scenario involves an employee who has fallen from height through a fragile roof, and the HSE is questioning the operations director for a local warehouse company before deciding whether to prosecute the company for safety breaches.

 

The operations director will also be cross-examined by a barrister before the barrister and the lawyer, Hayley Saunders from Shoosmiths, take questions from the floor.

 

HSE Visiting Officer Ian Weekes said: “Those who come along will be able to see first-hand what it is like for a representative of the company to face questioning under PACE conditions, and the implications for those involved.

 

The event will be held at the Lumb Farm Country Club in Ripley, Derbyshire on 6 December from 8.30am to 1pm. Those attending will be entered into a prize draw to win a place on a Site Safety Plus-accredited course ‘Director’s Role for Health and Safety’, donated by the CITB National Construction College.

 

Places cost £25 per head. For more information or to book, contact Ian Weekes on 0115 971 2871 or email ian.weekes@hse.gsi.gov.uk