Let us review a case study produced by the HSE, the incident of an older man who was standing on a roof ledge using a brush removing loose leaves might seem a simple job, not hazardous. However, when we look at it in a bit more detail, the roof was five meters high. The roof itself was made out of asbestos cement and fragile skylights. He was seen being accessed to the roof via a forklift truck.
He was then prosecuted, literally for the breaches of Regulation Four, organisation and planning; Regulation Five, competence; Regulation Six, avoidance of risk from work at height; Regulation Seven, selection of work equipment; and Regulation Nine, fragile surfaces. Each one of them carried a £20,000 fine. Why would you stand on the roof without following proper procedures?