Meat firm fined after worker injury

Luton Crown Court heard how an employee of Bedford based York House was instructed to adjust the height of shelves on storage racking with the assistance of co-workers. To enable them to reposition the top shelves of the racking the workers climbed up onto one of the lower crossbars which gave way underneath them.

One of the workers fell, hitting his head on the racking before landing on the floor. The dislodged crossbar fell from a height of 3.2m, hitting the employee on the back of the head and shoulders. The injured individual suffered soft tissue damage to his right shoulder and required physiotherapy for several months. He was also unable to work for two months.

An investigation by the HSE into the incident, which occurred on 12 April 2016, found the company had failed to adequately manage the risks associated with working at height. Employees were not aware of the dangers associated with climbing storage racking and no safe system of work was in place.

York House pleaded guilty to breaching the Work at Height Regulations of 2005. The company was fined £90,000 and ordered to pay costs of £20,567.88.

Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Emma Page said: “This incident could have been prevented had York House Meat Products provided a risk assessment or a safe system of work for the task in hand. Employees should be made aware of the risks associated with climbing storage racking.”