Employer jailed after 17 year-old killed at work
Solicitors acting for the family of Daniel Dennis have welcomed the sentencing of Roy Clarke, Daniel's employer, to 10 months imprisonment following today's sentencing hearing.
Clarke previously admitted the manslaughter of 17 year-old Daniel, who died after falling through a roof in his first week of work. The Crown Prosecution Services brought charges against him only after a hard fought campaign - including a judicial review of the initial CPS decision not to prosecute - by the Dennis family, their lawyers Thompsons and trade union the GMB.
Victory for Workplace Safety
Mick Antoniw, of Thompsons Solicitors said:"This sentence should be a warning to all employers that they will not be allowed to get away with killing workers through their negligence.
"Despite the initial failings of the CPS, justice has at long last been delivered. We can only pay tribute to the tenacity of the Dennis family who have fought for the past five years to ensure that their son's employer was held to account for his death."
Allan Garley, Regional Secretary of the GMB South Western Region said: "This sentence should be a warning to all employers who put profit ahead of safety. In this case the employer Roy Clarke probably thought he had got away with it. The GMB will continue to pursue employers whose negligence results in death or serious injury in the workplace."
Peter Dennis said: "It has been a long and difficult campaign. There have been many times that we have thought we would never see justice done for our much loved son. With this sentence we hope we can, in some way, start to move on. All we've ever wanted was for Daniel's boss to be held to account as a warning to other employers. We hope now that no parents ever have to go through what we have. Daniel's death could so easily have been avoided. Without the support of the GMB and Thompsons I don't think we could ever have achieved this victory for workplace safety."
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