News and Knowledge

Company fined £30,000 after two workers fell from crane

A company has been fined more than £30,000 after two employees fell from height during the assembly of a crane.   One man fell four feet and suffered serious injuries including fractures to his ribs and eye socket while working for Osprey Heavy Lift Limited in 2019.     An investigation by the Health and…

Company fined £60,000 after worker left with ‘life-changing’ injuries

A UK-based demolition company has been fined £60,000 after a worker was left with life-changing injuries.   MAC Demolition Ltd had been contracted to carry out works on a Victorian property in North West London in March 2022. During this time, the company had employed 57-year-old Tommy Brooks to work on the site as a…

Luxury hotel operator to pay £195,000 after employee suffers life-changing injuries at work

A luxury hotel operator has been ordered to pay £195,000 in damages to a former employee after he was left with life-changing injuries at work.   Barnsdale Hall Hotel, in Rutland pleaded guilty to a breach of health and safety law following the serious accident in May 2021. The accident occurred when Mr. Andrew Veasey…

Pret fined £800,000 after employee trapped in freezer

Coffee and sandwich shop giant, Pret-A-Manger, has received a hefty £800,000 fine after one of its employees developed pneumonia after they became trapped in a freezer for two hours.   In an effort to keep warm, the staff member had attempted to break up cardboard croissant boxes to cover the vent blowing out freezing cold…

135 work-related deaths confirmed in 2022/23

Figures recently published by the Health and Safety Executive have confirmed that 135 employees sadly lost their lives at work within the United Kingdom between 2022 and 2023, an increase of 12 from the previous year.   The statistics highlight that the industries most impacted by work-related deaths were construction, which accounted for 45 out…

Trips and Slips – Accidents at Work

Most of us spend a lot of any given week in the workplace, so it is important that your working environment is a safe one.   Unfortunately, accidents happen. Therefore, it is essential to determine whether the accident was was individual error, or if the employer was responsible because the workspace wasn’t up to safety…

Firework manufacturer receives hefty fine following fatal explosion

A firework factory has received a £500,000 fine after an employee sadly passed away when a firework ignited in their factory.   Brendan Ledgister, who was aged 24 at the time and had become a Father only 8 months prior, was working for Le Maitre Ltd (now LM140121 Limited) making a pyrotechnic composition. However, when…

Sellafield fined £400,000 following fractured spine at work

Sellafield Ltd, a large nuclear power plant controlled by government body the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, has received a hefty fine after their employee sustained lifechanging injuries at work.   The unnamed employee was working for the site in October 2021 when he was asked to repair a leaking pipeline, which was slippery due to leaking…

Motor trade mental health crisis

One in two workers in the motor trade suffer from issues with mental health and wellbeing, recent figures have revealed.     The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and its Working Minds campaign recently joined forces with motor trade organisations to she light on the the issue of work-related stress in the automotive repair industry.…

Workplace safety of farmers

For people who like animals and being out in the open air, working on a farm is probably your dream job.   It surely has to be the healthiest type of employment, whether its feeding the pigs, milking the cows or driving tractors to sow or harvest crops. Recent research highlighted by the Health and…