Police continue investigation after Gilbey reportedly died in a workplace accident in Southend-on-Sea

A man arrested in connection with the death of the Gogglebox star George Gilbey has been released under investigation by police. The man, who is in his 40s and from Witham in Essex, was arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter after Gilbey reportedly died after an accident at work on Wednesday.

He has now been released under investigation. This is a joint investigation with the Health and Safety Executive and police enquiries are ongoing. Police said they were called to an incident in Shoebury at around 10am last Wednesday after “a man who was working at height had fallen and sustained an injury”.

This tragic story reminds us just how important Health & Safety in the workplace is to firstly and most importantly ensure the safety of your employees and adhere to the law and the regulations.

Working at height remains one of the biggest causes of fatalities and major injuries. In 2022/23 there were 40 fatalities from falling from heights in the workplace*

Common cases include falls from ladders and through fragile surfaces. ‘Work at height’ means work in any place where, if there were no precautions in place, a person could fall a distance liable to cause personal injury (for example a fall through a fragile roof).

The Law

Employers can take simple, practical measures to reduce the risk of any of their workers falling while working at height. The purpose of The Work at Height Regulations 2005 is to prevent death and injury caused by a fall from height. If you are an employer or you control work at height (for example facilities managers or building owners who may contract others to work at height) the Regulations apply to you.

What you have to do

Employers and those in control of any work at height activity must make sure work is properly planned, supervised and carried out by competent people with the skills, knowledge and experience to do the job. You must use the right type of equipment for working at height.

Take a sensible approach when considering precautions. Low-risk, relatively straightforward tasks will require less effort when it comes to planning and there may be some low-risk situations where common sense tells you no particular precautions are necessary.

If you work in any of the industry sectors below, following the relevant link will take you to information for that particular type of work at height on the HSE website. Alternatively you can contact one of our experienced specialists

Industry-specific information:

Assessing and controlling the risks

First assess the risks, considering the:

height of the task
duration and frequency
condition of the surface being worked on

You can read the detailed working at height regulations and HSE guide here

The importance of Height Risk Assessment

The Work at Height Regulations purpose is to prevent death and injury caused by a fall from height.

The regulations apply to employers and anyone who instructs/contracts others to work at height. All work at height should be adequately assessed by competent and trained people. The correct choice of equipment is extremely important in reducing the risks.

Assessing the potential dangers when working at height is crucial, in order to prevent potentially fatal accidents and also potential fines for your business.

Safety First’s Height Risk Assessments

The Safety First team has many years of experience in Height Risk assessment. We will carry out a full assessment and detail our findings, ensuring that you are compliant with WAHR regulations, in a comprehensive report.

Help with working at height

Despite what people may think, working at height isn’t just a regulation for the building trade to be aware of. Many manufacturing companies that we work with have some areas of risk relating to work at height.

Currently, working at height regulations forms part of a businesses Health and Safety compliance. If you’re not sure whether you need to comply with WAHR, one of our friendly technicians can guide you through the process. This might mean a visit to site to conduct a risk assessment but that’s something we can discuss . Alternatively you may already be conducting regular working at height assessments. Whatever the reason, Safety First Group can help.