Several penalties were imposed by the Nicosia district court on Tuesday over violations of workplace health and safety legislation that led to the death of a worker.

The total fines amounted to €12,000, with separate penalties issued to the employer, contractor, project supervisor and an individual.

The employer was fined €6,500 for breaches of health and safety regulations that resulted in the death of an employee and exposed others to the risk of injury.

The court found that the employer had failed to install adequate safety railings of at least 1.1 metres in height along the edges of a mezzanine floor, including a guardrail or other protective barrier at floor level.

It also ruled that the employer failed to install a handrail and horizontal safety elements to ensure proper spacing and protection, as well as to implement sufficient measures to prevent falls from height.

The worker died after falling from a height of approximately 3.37 metres.

In addition, the employer was found to have failed to adequately supervise the work, leaving employees exposed to danger.

The project supervisor was fined €2,000 for failing to prepare a health and safety plan before work began and for not appointing a health and safety coordinator and assign relevant tasks to them in writing before the project study began.

A similar fine was imposed on an individual for breaches of occupational safety and health regulations.

The contractor was fined €1,500 for violations that exposed workers to injury.

Specifically, the contractor failed to install railings of sufficient height along the mezzanine edges, including a parapet or other barrier of at least 0.2 metres.

The contractor was also convicted on two additional counts: failing to install a handrail and horizontal safety element and failing to ensure that the distance between the parapet and the handrail did not exceed 0.45 metres, or to implement other measures to prevent falls.

The case followed criminal proceedings initiated by the labour inspection department against the employer, Orphanides Steel Construction, after the worker’s death.