Filenews 21 February 2023
The Supreme Court decided on January 25 to increase the penalty to a contractor for violations of the provisions of the Law on Safety and Health at Work, tenfold increasing the amount imposed as a fine, after the initial trial of the case.
As stated in a statement by the Legal Service, the revision of the amount of the fine arose after an appeal filed by the Attorney General of the Republic, on the recommendation of the Public Prosecutor, finding that the sentence imposed by the court of first instance "was manifestly insufficient", as stated.
Specifically, the District Court of Nicosia, in a case of criminal prosecution of a company, in which the Department of Labour Inspection proceeded, on issues of safety at work, awarded on October 5, 2021 a fine of € 750 to the company, for violations of the law "that endangered its employees, as well as other persons".
As stated in the announcement, after considering the appeal, the Supreme Court decided on January 25, 2023 to increase the total fine to €7,500. Specifically, the company is required to pay €1,500 for five different violations of the law.
The violations concern failure to ensure that work is carried out at a height, failure to install appropriate work platforms on the scaffolding, failure to install appropriate railings and shields of sufficient height and strength on the work platforms and failure to ensure the stability of the scaffolding, as well as failure to install solid railings at all ends and floor openings of sufficient height, failure to use an appropriate portable scale and failure to install clear and visible markings and fencing of satisfactory strength and height.
