A company and its director have been sentenced after workers were exposed to asbestos and its potential harmful effects.  Inspectors from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) visited Eye Track Limited’s site in Stretford, Manchester, and found an uncontrolled spread of asbestos containing materials around the premises.

A housing company based in Kent has been fined £528,000 after an employee repairing a fence post inadvertently struck an underground cable, suffering burns to his face.  The MHS Homes employee and a colleague had been tasked by the company to repair three fence posts in a back garden of a tenant on 10 January 2023. They had already repaired two of the posts and started on a third, when one of the workers struck an underground electrical cable as he tried to break through some concrete using a breaker.

Osbourne Clarke provide a UK Regulatory Outlook April 2024 - read on:

A new law is to be introduced making assaulting a retail worker a standalone criminal offence – but unions say the government action is too little too late.  The Prime Minister launched a retail crime crackdown this month after statistics showed 90% of retail workers have been abused by customers. The initiative, launched to root out prolific and violent shoplifters is called Project Pegasus. 

An aviation company has been fined £160,000 after a man, described by his family as a “legend”, was crushed to death at London Heathrow Airport during the unloading of baggage containers from an aircraft.  The man was working for Dnata Limited, a provider of ground handling and cargo services to major airlines, at Terminal 3 on 23 February 2022. He had arrived at the stand with a set of trailers to collect baggage containers which were being unloaded from the hold of an Emirates Airbus A380 aircraft which had just arrived from Dubai.

A company which provides shipping services, cargo handling and storage has been fined after a worker severed part of his finger while at work.  Dundee Sheriff Court heard that on 13 July 2021 Gordon McMillan, 55 at the time of the incident, works as a ‘stevedore’ (steve-eh-door), a role which involves the dockside loading and unloading of ships and goods vehicles, was injured when operating a table saw.

MD Safety comment:  Agan this unfortunate case highlights the need for FLT operators to wear seat belts.

An Oldham-based haulage company has been fined more than £85,000 after a fork lift truck driver was killed while loading a heavy goods vehicle (HGV).  Ian Dawson, 60, of Rochdale, was loading pallets onto the HGV at Chorlton Express Transport Limited on 19 November 2020. As he was doing this, the HGV moved forward, causing the fork lift truck to overturn. Mr Dawson, who was not wearing a seat belt, was trapped beneath the vehicle, and died as a result of his injuries.

A food manufacturer has been ordered to pay fines of more than £800,000 for safety failings after two separate incidents led to two workers having their fingers amputated.  On 16 November 2022, a 22-year-old worker at Pork Farms’ bakery in Nottingham had one of his fingers amputated after his hand became trapped trying to clear a blockage on a conveyor. Little more than a month later, on 24 December 2022, 19-year-old Mahamad Hassan also had a finger amputated after his hand came into contact with a rotating conveyor driveshaft at Pork Farms’ nearby Riverside Bakery. We spoke to HSE inspector Tim Nicholson about the two cases and how he investigated both.

UV protection at work should be a priority for all, but laissez-faire attitudes are a cause for concern. How can OSH professionals raise awareness and safeguard workers?  Working outdoors poses many risks for employees, including exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation. But according to a YouGov survey of 4435 respondents, of whom 558 were outdoor workers, precautionary measures are not always taken (SC Johnson Ltd, 2023). It found that a third of outdoor workers never apply sunscreen at work, and 34% of them claimed nothing would encourage them to do so. A third of those who never use UV protection at work said that they didn’t think it was necessary and 28% stated that they didn’t burn easily in the sun, citing this as their reason. 

A company in Doncaster has been fined after an employee was killed when a mixer wagon fell onto him.  The 52-year-old man was fatally crushed by the vehicle at Booth Mixer Hire Limited’s site at Bankend Quarry on 9 December 2019.  He had been replacing the wagon’s two front wheels when it fell on top of him.