News

Company fined after worker killed by telehandler

A construction company has been fined £160,000 after a man was killed by a telehandler at a house build site in Glasgow. Scott Bradley had been reversing the vehicle at the Stepford Road site when it slid down an embankment and overturned on 11 May 2022. The 44-year-old, employed by Merchant Homes Partnership Limited, had […]

Manchester engineering firm fined after apprentice loses fingers

A Manchester-based engineering company has been fined £500,000 after a young apprentice lost the use of two fingers when using a horizontal bandsaw. The apprentice, who was just 18 at the time, suffered the serious injuries to his fingers in an incident at Proline Engineering Limited in Worsely, on 7 November 2022. While one finger […]

Stress Awareness Week: Employers have to fulfil legal duty

Britain’s workplace health and safety regulator, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), is calling on all employers during Stress Awareness Week 2024 to carry out their legal duty to prevent work-related stress and support good mental health at work. HSE figures show the average employee suffering from work-related stress, depression or anxiety took an average […]

School trust fined after pupil injured

A school trust in Surrey has been fined after part of a pupil’s finger was amputated. The five-year-old boy, a Year 1 pupil at Danetree Primary School in Epsom, had been leaving the toilet on 15 June 2022 when his right hand slipped and went into the hinge side of a door. There was no […]

Man spared immediate spell behind bars over unsafe gas work

A man from Blackpool has been spared an immediate spell behind bars after his unsafe gas work put people’s lives at risk. Mehmet Kalyoncu, who pleaded guilty on the first day of a proposed trial, was given a 12-month custodial sentence suspended for the same period. The 57-year-old, who was not Gas Safe Registered, installed […]

Company fined as employee fractures skull

A company has been fined £80,000 after an employee sustained a fractured skull at its site in Glasgow. In addition to a fractured skull, the worker sustained a broken clavicle, a ripped earlobe and haematomas down his right side, caused by being struck by a telehandler bucket while working at Grayshill Limited on 19 October […]

Routine inspection lands metal recycling firm with £650,000 fine

A major metal recycling firm has been hit with a £650,000 fine following a routine inspection by Britain’s workplace regulator. ASM Metal Recycling, which operates four other metal recycling sites, including at locations in Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire, received enforcement action from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) for failing to implement effective control measures to […]

Residents put at risk of deadly disease as company fined £900k

A company has been fined following an outbreak of legionella at its sheltered housing accommodation in Birkenhead, putting vulnerable residents at risk of contracting Legionnaires’ disease. The deadly bacteria was detected at Vincent Naughton Court following the sampling of its water systems in the communal areas and flats in July and August 2018. With all […]

Two non-executive directors join HSE board

The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions has confirmed two non-executive director appointments to the board of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). Professor Christopher Johnson and Dr Cathie Mackay replaced non-executive directors Susan Johnson and John McDermid on 1 October and will be in their roles for the next five years. Chair of […]

Contractor fined after worker left paralysed by falling tree

A contractor from Dorset has been fined after a tree fell onto a forestry worker and left him with life-changing injuries. The 61-year-old man, who was 58 at the time, is now paralysed from the stomach down after the 21-metre ash tree landed on top of him at The Fonthill Estate in Salisbury, Wiltshire on […]

Cheshire farm owner fined after roofer dies in fall

A Cheshire farm owner has been fined after a man fell to his death from a forklift truck while attempting to repair the roof of a packing shed at his premises in Tarporley. Denis Thornhill and his company D.S. Thornhill (Rushton) Limited were fined a combined £16,000 after 64-year-old Mark Young was killed at Moss […]

Company fined following crane collapse

A company has been fined after a crane collapsed at its site on Falmouth Docks, putting more than 250 people at risk. Emergency services declared a major incident following the collapse at A&P Falmouth on 10 May 2017 with the surrounding area being evacuated and cordoned off. The crane had been operating above Royal Fleet […]

Cosmetics firm fined after HSE inspection found serious failings

A cosmetics company in Yorkshire has been fined more than £50,000 after an inspection by Britain’s workplace regulator uncovered serious electrical failings. Inspectors from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) conducted an unannounced inspection at the premises of Sabel Cosmetics Limited on Pellon Lane in Halifax on 5 July 2022. During the visit, the inspectors […]

Crown Censure issued following death of soldier

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has on, Thursday 3 October, issued the Ministry of Defence (MoD) with a Crown Censure following the death of a reservist soldier in Yorkshire. Staff Sergeant John McKelvie of Drongan in Ayr, was killed after the Jackal vehicle he was driving rolled multiple times down a steep hill at […]

Leading sandwich bread baker fined after worker loses finger

A nationwide bakery has been fined more than £360,000 after one of its employees lost a finger in machinery at a site in Northamptonshire. Jacksons Bakery, a leading supplier of bread used in the commercial making of sandwiches, was given the fine after an engineer had a finger on his right hand caught in a […]

Chemicals firm fined following explosion

A solvents manufacturer has been fined following an explosion at its factory in the Scottish Borders. The blast at Rathburn Chemicals in Walkerburn on 10 January 2020 resulted in a laboratory, which was part of the factory, being demolished. It was likely caused by excessive pentane vapour, generated by the company’s distillation process, overheating and […]