CareHomeDeskCareHomeDeskThe Work at Height Regulations 2005 apply to all work where a person could fall and be injured, including guttering, roof maintenance, window cleaning and loft access in care homes.
The Work at Height Regulations 2005 apply to any work where a person could fall a distance liable to cause personal injury, which in a care home context covers a wide range of routine tasks: guttering and roof maintenance, window cleaning, loft access for services, changing high-level light fittings, and tree or grounds work above ground level. The regulations apply to work arranged by the care home as well as work carried out by its own employees, meaning the duty extends to how contractors are managed, not just direct staff.
WAHR 2005 sets out a hierarchy that must be worked through in order: avoid work at height where possible, for example by using extendable tools from ground level; where it cannot be avoided, use equipment or measures to prevent a fall, such as guard rails or a scaffold; and where a fall cannot be prevented, use equipment to minimise the distance and consequences of a fall, such as fall arrest systems. Simply providing a ladder without first considering whether the work could be avoided or a safer method used does not meet this standard.
All work at height must be properly planned, appropriately supervised, and carried out in a way that is as safe as reasonably practicable, by people who are competent to do so or who are supervised by a competent person. This means a care home arranging roof or gutter work should confirm the contractor has a documented method statement and risk assessment for the specific task, not just a general assurance that they work at height regularly.
Falls from height consistently account for one of the largest shares of fatal workplace injuries in the UK each year, which is why WAHR 2005 enforcement is a high priority for HSE. For a care home, this risk is not limited to specialist roofing contractors -- it extends to any staff member or handyman who might be asked to access a roof, loft or high shelving without proper equipment or training, often as an informal or unplanned task.
Care home operators who arrange work at height, even where the physical work is carried out entirely by a contractor, retain duties around selecting a competent contractor, ensuring the work is properly planned, and not creating conditions -- such as unrealistic time pressure -- that encourage unsafe shortcuts. Operators who fail to properly plan or oversee work at height arranged on their premises can face prosecution alongside the contractor if an incident occurs, so this duty should be treated as a direct organisational responsibility, not something fully delegated once a contractor is appointed.
CareHomeDesk gives you compliance checklists, maintenance logs, and contractor management tools built around exactly this kind of knowledge.