Council prosecutes company for health and safety failings

District Judge Rana imposed a fine of £30,000 and ordered the company to pay full prosecution costs of £7,297 plus a £2,000 surcharge. She was concerned that significant health and safety failures had existed for a prolonged period. However, she accepted that the company had co-operated fully with the investigation and had put in place additional health and safety measures following the accident.

On 27 June 2022, a member of staff was injured whilst working at PDX Logistics Ltd, 20-22 Haddenham Business Park, Buckinghamshire. (PDX Logistics Ltd has now changed its name to Mobile People Powered Logistics (South) Ltd.)

The employee was in the loading yard, replacing a lightbulb on one of the lorries. He had got into the cab to switch on the lights to see which one had blown. He then walked to the front of the cab to check the light. As he got to the front of the lorry, another employee, who was reversing a fork-lift truck caught him with the back of the truck, causing him to fall and trapping him underneath the vehicle. The employee sustained serious leg injuries and required several weeks of treatment in hospital.

Shortly after the accident, Environmental Health Officers from Buckinghamshire Council visited the site to investigate. Whilst on site they found several health and safety concerns including blocked fire escape routes, unsecured gas cylinders and unsafe mobile steps. Lorries were also being loaded unsafely beside a roadway. Because of these health and safety failings, they served a Prohibition Notice to immediately stop activity on the site.

Officers found that there were no safe systems of work to separate pedestrians from vehicles throughout the site. Although some signage warned that fork-lifts were operating, there were no designated pedestrian walkways or barriers to prevent pedestrians from entering areas where fork-lifts and other vehicles were operating. They found that staff had not received appropriate health and safety training, and the company did not provide any evidence that relevant health and safety training had taken place. Health and safety documents including risk-assessments and policies, had not been reviewed or updated for many years, despite changes in ownership and management of the company. An Improvement Notice was served requiring the company to review and update risk assessments.

The company was charged with an offence under Section 2 of The Health and Safety at Work (etc.) Act 1974, specifically failing to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of his employees.

Mark Winn, Buckinghamshire Council’s Cabinet Member for Cabinet Member for Homelessness and Regulatory Services, said:

“This case highlights the critical importance of maintaining rigorous health and safety standards in the workplace. Employers have a duty to protect their employees, and we will not hesitate to take action against those who fail to do so.

“The serious injuries sustained by the employee in this incident were entirely preventable, and it is unacceptable that such basic safety measures were not in place. We hope this prosecution serves as a stark reminder to all businesses in Buckinghamshire that the health and safety of their workforce must always be a top priority.”