Food company fined for Health & Safety flop

The UK’s largest food manufacturer, Premier Foods has been ordered to pay around £21,000 after an accident occurred, whereby a 65kg metal pillar crushed one employee’s skull.

The firm were fined £14,000 and urged to pay costs of up to £6,808 after the incident at its Manor Bakeries in Moreton - North West England.

After the court hearing, it was found that worker Thomas Williams had been on duty at the plant when a four-metre section of pillar fell onto his head. 61 year old Thomas was in hospital for 6 months or more after having suffered from severe brain damage as well as major spinal injuries. Mr. Williams survived but now has hardship with movement and speech.

The HSE have commented that Premier Foods had no reason for any failure to comply with basic health and safety procedures and have set going a prosecution for the failure of ensuring safety of employees. The company have pleaded guilty in breach of Section 2 of the Health and Safety at Work Act.

After investigations, it was found that the company hadn’t planned things well enough in order to do the job properly and the majority of workers had not been trained on how to work safely.