A STEEL stockholder has been ordered to pay a five-figure sum after one of its employees was seriously injured when working alone in the warehouse.
M Brittain (York) Limited, based in Lye, has been prosecuted by Dudley Council after the employee sustained a serious injury to their foot in February 2021.
The employee had been lifting packs of steel sheet using a three-tonne overhead crane and grab attachments to load them onto a lorry, when they were struck by a pack of steel sheets.
He required hospitalisation for his injuries.
M Brittain (York) Limited pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 at Dudley Magistrates Court this week.
It was fined £8,000 and ordered to pay costs of £18,842.11 plus a victim surcharge of £190, bringing the total fine to £27,032.
For the task of handling and moving packs of steel sheet using an overhead crane and grab attachments, the company was found to have “failed to provide and maintain a system of work that was safe and without risks to health”.
It also failed to provide their employees with adequate information, instruction, training and supervision.
Councillor James Clinton, Cabinet Member responsible for Trading Standards at Dudley Council, said: “I am pleased at the outcome of this case, which serves as a reminder to businesses that we will not fail to act against those who are not meeting their responsibilities.
“The Health and Safety at Work Act requires employers to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of their employees and I would like to thank our Environmental Health team for their work on this case.”
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