Court increases safety fine on company

The Supreme Court on Wednesday increased the penalty bestowed upon the owners of a construction company for failing to take measures to guarantee the workers’ safety from €150 to €1,500, after an appeal filed by the legal service.

The owners of the company in question, Marios and Michalis Pavlou Ltd, pleaded guilty to five counts of failure to take guarantee minimum safety and health standards at construction sites. They were fined €150 per each count.

However, attorney-general George Savvides criticised the sentences, deeming them manifestly insufficient and filed an appeal to the Supreme Court.

According to the AG, the court did not give due weight to the seriousness of the offences, resulting in a penalty that did not fulfil the need for its prevention and deterrence.

Savvides also argued that the court gave undue weight to the mitigating factors and, in particular, to the defendants’ immediate admission of culpability, to their clean criminal record and to the fact that their actions did not lead to injuries.

The appeal filed was eventually successful and the court imposed the owners of the company a total of €1,500 per each count in which they were found guilty.