H&S Legal Briefing May 2024: One of the nation’s largest producers of supermarket pizzas has been fined £800,000 after two workers suffered serious injuries at its factory in Bolton.
What caused these employee accidents?
Stateside Foods Limited, one of the nation’s largest producers of supermarket pizzas has been fined £800,000 after two workers suffered serious injuries at its factory in Bolton.
The company was hit with the fine after these work accidents saw the employees caught up in machinery at the Westhoughton site in two separate work accidents during 2020.
Bolton Crown Court heard how one man had his arm drawn into an inadequately guarded conveyor belt at the Lancaster Way factory, on 8 January 2020. The injury to his arm resulted in the removal of muscle and required a skin graft. He has not returned to work since the injury and has been diagnosed with hypersensitivity in the affected arm.
Following on from this, the second of the two accidents at work happened on a night shift just nine months later. The father of two Andrew Holloway had part of his middle figure severed after his hand was drawn between a roller and a conveyor belt on 14 October 2020. The acting team leader had been told of an issue on the production line and had gone to investigate when the horrific incident happened. Andrew Holloway had part of his middle figure severed after his hand was drawn between a roller and a conveyor. Although Mr Holloway returned to work after a six-month absence he left after just a couple of days – which resulted in him starting his career again.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found the company did not adequately guard their machinery, did not provide suitable and sufficient checks to ensure that its protective measures were working effectively, and allowed the disabling of guarding systems and access to dangerous parts of machinery.
Stateside Foods Limited of Lancaster Way, Westhoughton, Bolton, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2 (1) and 3 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act. The company was fined £800,000 and was ordered to pay £5,340 costs at a hearing on 15 March 2024 at Bolton Crown Court.
The use of work equipment refers to all work activities involving the item of work equipment including, starting the equipment, application of the equipment to a particular task, repairs, upgrades, maintenance, and servicing, cleaning the equipment, stopping the equipment, and moving the equipment.
It is also essential for employers to have a comprehensive work injury reporting procedure in the event of work accidents. Employee injury reporting procedures help create a robust safety environment in the workplace and support employers with compliance and transparency in the event of an employee accident at work.
Working with machinery can be hazardous, particularly if employers fail to provide adequate training or the machinery is incorrectly maintained. Any employee accident at work is a serious matter. You must ensure that protective measures are in place and adequate work-related injury reporting procedures. Don’t wait for incidents to prompt action—contact us today by clicking here Avensure Contact for health and safety support!
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