Tomasz Galwaz, 29, died after falling from the roof of Al Amin Wholesale in Aston, Birmingham on 5 January 2015.
Mafizur Rahman, 32, of Trinity Road, Aston, pleaded guilty to manslaughter at Birmingham Crown Court in December.
Police said his main priority had been to get roof repairs done as cheaply as possible with disregard to the safety of workers.
Al Amin Wholesale Limited, the company who own the buildings, also pleaded guilty to two breaches under the Health and Safety at Work Act.
The firm was also fined Â£144,000 and ordered to pay costs of Â£44,600.
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Mr Galwaz and a friend were employed by Rahman in December 2014 to carry out repairs to the roof of the warehouse in Grosvenor Road, owned by his brothers and father, police said.
The deal was carried out through an interpreter as the two Polish men spoke little English. Police were later told by the interpreter that there were no discussions around safety procedures, personal protective equipment or risk assessments. There was also no mention of insurance.
The men were working on the roof on 5 January when it cracked and they both fell through on to a concrete floor.
Mr Galwaz was taken to hospital with a serious head wound and died from his injuries the following day.
The second man suffered minor injuries.
Det Insp Jim Munro, from West Midlands Police, said: "Rahman's main priority was to get the job done as cheaply as possible with complete disregard for the safety of these workers âˆ’ with tragic consequences."
A second man also arrested in January 2015 on suspicion of manslaughter was released without charge.

The crash, which happened at the Rising Sun in North Bradley near Trowbridge at about 06:00 GMT, left a huge hole in the front of the building.
Wiltshire Police said the driver was taken to Bath's Royal United Hospital for treatment to his injuries, which are not thought to be serious.
Nobody was inside at the time of the crash, officers said. The building has been deemed to be structurally safe.
The road next to the pub was closed for several hours but has since reopened.

Adele Bellis, then 22, lost an ear, is now partially bald and was left with "life-changing" permanent scarring.
The attack, at a bus stop in Lowestoft, Suffolk, on 14 August 2014, was ordered by her ex-boyfriend Anthony Riley, 27, Ipswich Crown Court was told.
Jason Harrison, 39, from Lowestoft, admits the attack and said Mr Riley promised to reduce a drugs debt.
Mr Riley, of Raglan Street, Lowestoft, denies false imprisonment, conspiracy to apply a corrosive liquid and conspiracy to cause GBH with intent.
Harrison claims a "jealous" Mr Riley recruited him as part of a campaign to "humiliate and control" his partner of nearly seven years.
But he had been reluctant to go through with the attack until Mr Riley threatened to harm him, his girlfriend and family, he said.
He owed Mr Riley Â£10,000 and would be let off some of it if he carried out the attack, he said.
Mr Riley told him where she lived and gave him Â£500 and a coffee jar containing sulphuric acid, the jury was told.
He aborted two attacks causing Mr Riley to punch him and put a knife in his mouth, Mr Harrison said.
"I didn't want to do this attack. I'm not a violent person," he said.
Prosecutor Andrew Jackson had earlier told the court Mr Riley arranged for co-defendant Leon Thompson, 39, to stab Miss Bellis in the face and posted a revenge porn sex video on Facebook.
Mr Thompson, 39, of Alma Road, Lowestoft, denies wounding with intent, having a knife in public, conspiracy to apply a corrosive liquid and conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm with intent.
The trial continues
A businessman has been jailed for 30 months after a man plunged to his death from a warehouse roof.
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A man threw acid in a beautician's face because he feared for his life, family and girlfriend, a court has heard.