The Work at Height Regulations 2005 set duties for work in Great Britain where a fall could cause injury. This guide links the national injury evidence to those duties and to documented enforcement examples. It distinguishes all-offence prosecution totals from cases concerning work at height.

The Work at Height Regulations and the injury evidence

The Regulations came into force on 6 April 2005. They apply across sectors and include work below ground level where a person could fall and be injured. They are not a rule only for ladders or work above two metres.

HSE recorded 31 fatal falls from height in 2025/26. Separately, its 2024/25 annual report records 246 completed criminal prosecutions across health and safety offences. Neither figure is a count of prosecutions under the Work at Height Regulations alone.

Reviewed 15 October 2026. HSE fatal data is Great Britain, 2025/26 provisional. LFS absence is an annual average for 2022/23–2024/25; completed prosecutions cover 2024/25. Individual cases are dated separately.

Key facts and figures

  • 31 workers died in falls from height in Great Britain in 2025/26, provisional.
  • About 25% of all 126 worker accident deaths in that year involved height falls.
  • 246 criminal prosecutions completed by HSE in 2024/25, across health and safety offences.
  • 249,000 working days lost to height falls per year on average over 2022/23–2024/25, estimated by the LFS.
  • 4,684 non-fatal employee height-fall injuries reported under RIDDOR in 2024/25, provisional.
  • About £3.2 million in fines recorded for British Airways’ two Regulation 6(3) breaches in May 2025.

The survey and RIDDOR figures have different coverage and periods. They should not be combined to calculate a reporting rate or treated as an estimate of how many employers broke the law.

What the Regulations require

There is no minimum height threshold. The duty applies where a fall could cause injury, with precautions proportionate to the work and risk.

Regulation 6 sets the sequence:

  • Avoid work at height where reasonably practicable.
  • Where it is necessary, prevent falls using a safe place of work or suitable equipment.
  • Where a risk remains, minimise the distance and consequences of a fall.

When selecting equipment, give collective protection priority over personal protection. Guardrails prevent falls; safety nets and fall-arrest systems generally limit the consequences after a fall has begun.

Planning and competence: Regulation 4 covers organisation and planning, including emergencies and rescue. Regulation 5 addresses competence and supervision of people being trained.

Equipment: selection and inspection duties are covered by Regulations 7 and 12, with additional requirements in the relevant schedules. Inspection needs depend on the equipment, its use and conditions; there is no single examination interval for every height-work item.

HSE enforcement: how it works

Enforcement may involve HSE or another relevant enforcing authority. Available measures include:

  • Inspection: inspectors can examine activities, equipment and records using their statutory powers.
  • Prohibition notices: work involving a risk of serious personal injury may be prohibited. The notice takes immediate effect if the risk is imminent, or from the date specified.
  • Improvement notices: an inspector can require a legal contravention to be remedied within a specified period.
  • Prosecution: serious breaches may lead to criminal proceedings. The court, applicable law and facts determine penalties; unlimited fines are not confined to the Crown Court.

Examples of work-at-height enforcement

CaseYearRecorded fine
British Airways: two WAH Regulation 6(3) breaches2025About £3.2 million in total
Add Prop Limited: CDM temporary-structure stability2026£20,000
Atif Riaz: HSWA section 372026£1,730
Roofrite (Shropshire): WAH Regulation 6(3)2025£8,000
Harding and Houlston: CDM Regulation 13(1)2025£500

British Airways: HSE’s conviction record lists two Regulation 6(3) offences heard on 15 May 2025. The recorded fines together are approximately £3.2 million.

Add Prop and its director: HSE’s July 2026 release describes a tower scaffold that overturned onto two members of the public in July 2023. The company and director were sentenced under CDM and HSWA provisions respectively, illustrating the wider legal framework around height work.

Roofrite (Shropshire) and Harding and Houlston: both were sentenced in May 2025 after a worker fell through an unprotected roof-window opening in December 2022, fracturing his spine and ribs. HSE found failures in planning and instructions, and in the principal contractor’s monitoring of the work. The offences concerned WAH Regulation 6(3) and CDM Regulation 13(1) respectively.

These are examples, not a ranking of the largest fines or a complete set of work-at-height prosecutions. Fines are separate from legal costs, which may also be ordered.

Why prosecutions follow falls from height

The legal duty is to manage the actual risk, with measures appropriate to the task. Matters that may be investigated after an incident include:

  • Whether the risk assessment identified the particular fall exposure.
  • Whether suitable fall prevention and, where needed, consequence-reduction measures were provided.
  • Whether planning and supervision were adequate.
  • Whether people had the required competence or supervised training.
  • Whether equipment was suitable, maintained and inspected.

An injury is not required before an enforcing authority can act. Equally, incident totals alone do not establish that every case involved a breach or that a fixed percentage of employers were non-compliant.

Related guides

Make sure everyone who works at height understands the Regulations and the hierarchy of control.

Train your team to work safely at height →
Mark McShane
Mark McShane
Working at Height & Health & Safety Training Specialist, Online CPD Academy

Mark writes about working at height, workplace safety, compliance and accredited training for Working at Heights Course, part of Online CPD Academy.

Sources & references