The owner of a building firm convicted of corporate manslaughter and breaches of the Health & Safety at Work Act has been ordered to advertise the convictions on the firm's website and in the local newspaper.

The convictions resulted from a man falling through a roof he was working on for Peter Mawson Ltd, a building and joinery firm. The company pleaded guilty in December to Corporate Manslaughter and a breach of the Health & Safety at Work Act by failing to ensure the safety of employees. The company was fined £200,000 for the corporate manslaughter offence and £20,000 for the Health & Safety breach.

Peter Mawson, owner of the company, also pleaded guilty to a breach of the same Act and was sentenced last week to eight months in prison suspended for two years, 200 hours unpaid work, and a publicity order to advertise what happened on the company website for a set period of time and to take out a half-page advertisement in the local newspaper. He was also orderd to pay costs of £31,504.77.

The death resulted from an incident at 3:15pm on Tuesday 25 October 2011. Emergency services attended West Cumberland Farmers Ltd in Ulverston following a report that a man had fallen through a roof. The man, 42-year-old Jason Pennington, had been working on the roof and had fallen through a skylight from a height of approximately 7.6m on to a concrete floor. He was taken to Furness General Hospital where he died a short time later.

Detective Sergeant Paul Yates, for Cumbria Police, said afterwards: "This has been a long and complex investigation and we have worked closely with the Health & Safety Executive to establish what happened on that tragic day. I hope that this case serves as a warning to other businesses… that health & safety measures are extremely important, and if not implemented correctly can result in devastating consequences."

Chris Hatton, the investigating inspector at HSE, added: “Jason tragically lost his life because the company that employed him did nothing to make sure he was safe while he worked on a fragile roof.

“Peter Mawson knew the clear panels on the roof weren’t safe to walk on but neither he nor his company provided any equipment to prevent workers falling to their death. If scaffolding or netting had been fitted under the fragile panels, or covers had been fitted over them, then Jason would still be here today.”

For guidance on working at height, click here to go to the HSE website.