This month, there are two stories in the News section regarding tradesmen being prosecuted for not doing their jobs properly. The actual misdemeanours had very different outcomes yet the sentences were surprisingly similar.

In the first example, a gas fitter was working on the gas supply at a home and he removed the gas meter during the process. He propped the gas meter on bricks, which exacerbated an existing fault, and reconnected the gas supply. When the resident turned on a gas hob the following day, the resulting explosion lead to the destruction of three houses and injured ten adults and five children. The fitter was ordered to pay £1,000 plus costs.

In our other featured story, an electrical contractor was prosecuted for claiming to be a member of NICEIC when, in fact, he wasn’t. He pleaded guilty to eight counts of unauthorised use of a trade logo. As far as I know, no one was injured nor was property damaged as a result of his false claims. He was fined £1,200 plus a proportion of the prosecution costs.

My issue here is not with the actions of Trading Standards in the NICEIC case – I fully understand and support the need to actively pursue people who falsely claim to be members of certification bodies as this can only have negative ramifications for our industry as a whole – it is with the seemingly meagre fine that was handed out to the gas fitter. His thoughtless actions have had a massive impact on the lives of all those involved (injury, loss of possessions and property etc) that does not seem to be comparable to the punishment (a grand total of £1,500 when prosecution costs are included).

According to the forensic examination of the gas pipes at the house, there was an existing weak point due to previously poor work. However, as it was not possible to locate who had carried out this work, the HSE was unable to bring a separate prosecution against the person responsible.

While this may be considered mitigating circumstances, the fact that the fitter being prosecuted thought it was perfectly acceptable to prop a gas meter top of six bricks cannot be ignored. Unless such negligence is met with sterner sentences, it will become increasingly difficult to promote best practice at all times. In terms of the carrot and the stick, the stick is not much use if it’s barely a twig.