Builders liability insurance holders have been told that employees' safety should be "of paramount importance at all times", following the prosecution of a firm.
Allied Glass Containers, of Leeds, was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after a worker sustained serious injuries when he plunged two metres onto a concrete floor. The company was fined £10,000 and ordered to pay costs of £3,173.
Leeds Magistrates Court heard how a mezzanine floor was opened up so that faulty equipment could be removed and replaced.
However, it was left open in case further adjustments were made and when one worker was called back up to the area, he lost his footing and fell through the gap.
Paul Yeadon, HSE inspector, said that it should not take an accident of this kind for firms to implement safe-working procedures which should be in place anyway.
The HSE recently launched a new campaign, giving advice to public liability insurance holders about how slips, trips and falls in the workplace can have a devastating effect on people's lives.