A waste and recycling company in London has been fined £260,000 after a worker sustained severe crush injuries during maintenance work.

Grzegorz Poreba, an employee of Cappagh Public Works Limited, sustained severe injuries after becoming trapped between a conveyor and a metal bridge, which formed part of a waste sorting machine, at Riverside Road, Wimbledon, London on 11 September 2020.

The 48-year-old had entered the machine to make repairs to the mesh of the hopper. The machine had not been isolated from all sources of energy before the repair work started and when it was inadvertently switched on, Grzegorz was thrown onto the conveyor, trapping him against a metal bridge.

Investigating, the HSE found that Cappagh Public Works Limited had failed to provide a suitable means to isolate the machinery from all sources of energy. The isolator switch had been broken and was therefore inoperative. The company also had no formal maintenance arrangements for the machinery.

Cappagh Public Works Limited, of Waterside Way, London, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act. 1974.

The company was fined £260,000 and was ordered to pay £4,358 costs at a hearing at Westminster Magistrates Court on 20 October 2023.

This is valid as of 30th October 2023.

[Trigger Warning: Suicide]

(Australia)

Court Services Victoria (CSV) has been convicted and fined $379,157 over a toxic workplace culture at the Coroners Court of Victoria that contributed to the suicide of one worker and numerous others taking stress leave.

The independent statutory body, which administers Victoria’s court system, was sentenced in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court after earlier pleading guilty to a single charge of failing to provide and maintain a safe workplace.

It was also ordered to pay $13,863 in costs.

The court heard that from at least December 2015 to September 2018, workers at the Coroners Court were at risk from exposure to traumatic materials, role conflict, high workloads and work demands, poor workplace relationships, and inappropriate workplace behaviours.

During this period, workers made numerous complaints, including allegations of bullying, favouritism and cronyism, verbal abuse, derogatory comments, intimidation, invasions of privacy, and perceived threats to future progression.

A number of workers took leave after reporting feelings of anxiety, PTSD, stress, fear, and humiliation.

Some workers never returned to the workplace, including the Principal In House Solicitor Jessica Wilby. The 45-year-old had been on personal leave for three months, during which she was diagnosed with a work-related major depressive disorder, when she took her own life in September 2018.

CSV admitted it failed to conduct any adequate process to identify risks, and any adequate risk assessment of the risks to psychological health of employees at the Coroners Court.

This is valid as of 30th October 2023.

The owner of an Abingdon hotel has been fined for serious breaches of fire safety legislation that put the lives of guests in danger.

Roknor House, based in Abingdon, Oxford housed a takeaway business on the ground floor and a hotel on the first and second floors. Fire safety inspectors from Oxfordshire County Council’s Fire and Rescue Service visited the premises in March 2021 following a tip off.

During the visit, several serious fire safety issues were identified. These included the fire alarm and emergency lighting systems not working, lack of adequate fire-resistant structure between the ground floor takeaway and the sleeping accommodation above and no fire risk assessment in place.

The premises were considered so dangerous that inspectors issued an immediate prohibition notice preventing sleeping in the property until fire safety measures were improved.

This is valid as of 30th October 2023.

Two men from Binbrook have been prosecuted at Humber Magistrates’ Court. They worked as illegal security in 2020 for G4 Fuels Ltd in Market Rasen.

These cases are the culmination of a series of prosecutions brought by the Security Industry Authority (SIA). They follow the prosecution of Louth company director, Trevor Frater at Grimsby Crown Court in November 2021, in which Frater was ordered to pay £33,979.51 in Proceeds of Crime Act reparations, within eight weeks or face a prison sentence.

The case began when three unlicensed men were supplied from Frater’s business, Elite Security, to provide round the clock illegal security to G4 Fuels Ltd between 17 July 2020 and 26 August 2020.

They were supplied under the auspices of the site being a COVID-19 test and trace operation. SIA’s investigators found no links between an official test and trace operation and the supply of the staff to Brookenby Business Park.

On 27 October 2020, Chambers and Whitfield were invited to an interview-under-caution with SIA investigators. Whitfield joined the interview while Chambers failed to engage with SIA investigators.

On 28 May 2021, the third unlicensed operative, Frank Quinton pleaded guilty at Grimsby Magistrates’ Court to working illegally. He was fined £100 and required to pay £779.40 prosecution costs and a £39 victim surcharge.

Michael Chambers and Michael Whitfield pleaded not guilty to working without a licence, despite being shown in video evidence as doing so. A new trial date was therefore set.

Michael Chambers was found guilty by the court and was fined £500, ordered to pay £1,500 prosecution costs and a victim surcharge of £50. Michael Whitfield was found guilty and was fined £500, ordered to pay £1,500 prosecution costs and a victim surcharge of £50.

This is valid as of 30th October 2023.

(New Zealand)

WorkSafe is warning businesses of the catastrophic consequences that can result from failing to undertake routine safety checks on trailers.

This follows the death of 52-year-old Julian Bruins Yates, whose van was struck when a trailer detached from a work vehicle in October 2020 on Weka Pass Road in Canterbury.

Ultimate Design and Renovation (UDR) Limited, which owned the A-frame trailer and tow vehicle, and its operational arm ABC Aluminium Limited, have now been sentenced for health and safety failures. A fine of $270,000 was imposed, along with an order to pay $130,000 in reparations.

A WorkSafe investigation found the locking handle on the trailer was not engaged, and the trailer’s safety chain was not connected to the vehicle.

WorkSafe’s Head of Specialist Interventions, Dr. Catherine Gardner said: “These are routine checks that must be done when towing a trailer. If not, the consequences can be catastrophic.”

ABC and UDR did not have systems to ensure vehicles were kept in good working order, or systems to ensure drivers visually checked their vehicles before use.

WorkSafe also found staff had inadequate information, training, instruction, supervision, and experience to safely use the company vehicles and trailers.

This is valid as of 23rd October 2023.

(United States)

Two Las Vegas contractors have been sentenced to six months in prison each for releasing asbestos while renovating a facility, according to federal prosecutors.

Rene Morales and Hector Vasquez received their sentences in federal court for violating the Clean Air Act, the U.S. Attorney’s office for Nevada said in a news release.

They had pleaded guilty earlier this year to releasing toxic asbestos fibers during renovation work on a Las Vegas warehouse that was being turned into a marijuana facility.

Prosecutors alleged Morales and Vasquez had workers remove drywall and ceiling texture that they should have known contained asbestos, and they did not use any abatement measures.

This put the workers and community in danger of death or serious injury due to the release of the fibers, prosecutors argued.

Morales and Vasquez also lied to investigators about their involvement and tried to cover up what happened by claiming bags marked “asbestos” were for training, rather than disposal.

This is valid as of 23rd October 2023.

A pet food company director has been given a suspended prison sentence and his company fined £34,000 after breaching health and safety legislation.

Finer By Nature Ltd appeared before magistrates in Kidderminster for sentencing after entering earlier guilty pleas to four counts of contravening a health and safety regulation, while managing director Gary James Pitchford appeared for sentencing after admitting three counts of contravening a health and safety regulation at the previous hearing.

The court was told that the business had employed two young persons without having made or reviewed a risk assessment made in accordance with the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 at Whitestone on 15 July 2020.

It had also failed to comply with its duties under the same Regulations by making a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks to employee health and safety in relation to a Handmann VF80 vacuum filler machine and ensuring measures were taken to prevent access to any dangerous part of the same machine between 9 and 16 July 2020.

Gary Pitchford, 56, had admitted being the managing director of the company at the time the two young persons were employed and that the offences relating to them had been committed with his consent or were attributable to his neglect.

The offence of failing to take measures to ensure access to dangerous parts of the Handmann VF80 machine had also been committed with his consent or was attributable to his neglect, the court heard.

This is valid as of 23rd October 2023.

(Australia)

The Darwin local court has convicted and fined OM (Manganese) Ltd $487,500 (after discount for an early guilty plea) over the 2019 workplace death of a 59-year-old Mine Superintendent at Bootu Creek Mine.

In August 2019, the Mine Superintendent entered the open cut pit to conduct an assessment after four workers reported seeing sediment slipping from the wall earlier that day. Tragically, a section of the wall gave way, burying the worker as he was inspecting the wall.

The mine operator pleaded guilty to consolidated charges under Section 32 of the Work Health and Safety (National Uniform Legislation) Act 2011 for failing to ensure the health and safety of its workers under Section 19(1)(a) of the Act.

The Northern Territory’s Work Health and Safety Regulator, Ms Peggy Cheong said this tragic incident could have been avoided if the mine operator had implemented all the recommendations made by a number of specialist consultants they engaged for the safe operation of the mine: “Mining is a high risk industry and it is imperative that any recommendations made for the safe operation of the mine are not set aside for operational efficiencies.”

“In the days leading up to the tragic event, OM (Manganese) Ltd was aware of instability in sections of the pit. Had they implemented previous recommendations, the pit should have been closed and no workers allowed to enter until additional monitoring had determined the extent of the movement of the wall that collapsed.

“I call on current and prospective mine operators in the Territory to learn from this tragic incident and ensure that all recommendations made by consultants they engage for the safe operation of the mine are implemented. Do not put operational efficacies before the safety of your workers.”

This is valid as of 23rd October 2023.

A Northwich furniture company has been fined £16,000 after it repeatedly failed to protect its employees from exposure to wood dust.

Pineland Furniture Ltd, based on Witton Street in the Cheshire town, was inspected by the HSE on two separate occasions over a two-year period – with both identifying identical breaches.

Nathan Cook, HSE senior enforcement lawyer, told Chester Magistrates Court how a visit in December 2019 found significant breaches of the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH) – resulting in six improvement notices being served. These included requirements for the company to undertake statutory examinations of its wood dust extraction systems and to undertake face fit testing for those employees required to wear tight fitting face masks.

However, another visit to the same premises in November 2021 found identical breaches and again improvement notices were served.

This inspection came as part of HSE’s national campaign targeting woodworking businesses. The significant occupational health risks associated with wood dust and the continued failure to ensure control of exposure to wood dust resulted in HSE prosecuting the company.

Pineland Furniture Limited pleaded guilty to breaching regulations 7(1) and 9(2)(a) of COSHH. They were fined £16,000 and was ordered to pay £3,008 costs at a hearing at Chester Magistrates Court.

This is valid as of 23rd October 2023.

(Australia)

An injured worker who failed to disclose his return to full-time employment will have to fully repay more than $121,622 in workers compensation.

Adrian Marion, 59, was sentenced in Geelong Magistrates’ Court after pleading guilty to a single charge of fraudulently obtaining payments.

He was convicted, placed on a 12-month Community Corrections Order with 75 hours of unpaid community work, and ordered to pay $26,622 in remaining restitution.

The court heard in November 2020, Marion lodged a claim for a stress related injury while working as a general manager at a fertiliser manufacturer.

He commenced receiving weekly top-up payments on the basis of capacity certificates and time-sheets he submitted showing that he was working four hours a week at a nearby mulching company.

An investigation later found Marion had commenced full-time employment at the company in December 2020 before becoming a sub-contracted consultant in April 2021, submitting invoices recording up to 29.5 hours per month.

Marion also worked full-time as a manager at a protective coatings business in North Shore between April and July 2021.

By the time his weekly payments were terminated in March 2022, Marion had earned almost $100,000 but had declared income of just $10,500.

This is valid as of 16th October 2023.

Today (18 October) is World Menopause Day, which is held each year to raise awareness, break the stigma, and highlight the support available for improving health and wellbeing for those experiencing menopause.

Menopause is not just a gender or age issue, it is an organisational issue which can impact colleagues both directly or indirectly.

Awareness around this topic is key to reducing the stigma attached to menopause and encourages people to talk more openly about it.

Research from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) showed that:

• women aged 50 and over are the fastest growing group in the workforce, and the average age for menopause transition is 51;
• three out of five working women aged between 45 and 55 who are experiencing menopause symptoms say it has a negative impact on them at work;
• more than half of this group said they experienced more stress;
• nearly a third of women have taken sick leave due to their symptoms, but only a quarter told managers the real reason why.

The menopause affects most women and other people who have a menstrual cycle, including:

• trans people whose gender is not the same as the sex they were assigned at birth; and
• people with “variations of sex development” or who identify as intersex, or use the term “differences in sex development”.

The menopause usually happens between 45 and 55 years of age, but can also happen earlier or later in someone’s life. For many people, symptoms last about four years, but in some cases symptoms can last a lot longer. There are three different stages to the menopause:

• perimenopause;
• menopause;
• postmenopause.

Some people might also experience early menopause or go through medical menopause earlier in their lives. These types of menopause can be medically complicated, so employers should consider this when supporting their staff.

World Menopause Day 2023

The theme for World Menopause Day 2023 is cardiovascular disease.

The link between reproductive factors and cardiovascular disease is another important aspect of menopause that women need to be aware of.

Researchers have recently discovered that a woman’s reproductive experiences, including menstruation, pregnancy, any breast cancer treatments, and menopause, can affect the chances of developing cardiovascular disease later in life. Awareness of this can help determine an individuals risk.

Advice for employers

It is important for employers to support staff through every stage of the menopause. Having early and regular follow-up conversations with staff to understand their needs can help make sure support and procedures are in place so they can continue to do their job effectively.

ACAS states that employers should consider how the person’s job role and responsibilities could make their menopause symptoms harder to deal with, such as:

• working longer shifts;
• not being able to take regular toilet breaks;
• their jobs requiring a uniform which may cause discomfort;
• their jobs not having much flexibility.

It can given staff more confidence to talk to their managers about the effects of the menopause on their work if they know the managers are trained to:

• talk and listen sensitively;
• find ways to give support;
• have knowledge of the menopause and its effects;
• know what support and guidance the organisation can offer.

Risk assessments

By law employers are responsible for the health and safety of all staff, including those working from home. The Equality Act 2010 protects workers against discrimination, and the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, says an employer must, where reasonably practicable, ensure everyone’s health, safety and welfare at work.

Employers must conduct a risk assessment of their staff’s work and workplace and those working from home, including:

• generally assessing health and safety risks at work;
• minimising, reducing and where possible, removing health and safety risks for staff.

For staff affected by the menopause, this includes ensuring menopause symptoms are not made worse by the workplace or its work practices, and making changes to help staff manage their symptoms when doing their job. For the menopause, a risk assessment could include:

• the temperature and ventilation of the workplace;
• the material and fit of the organisation’s uniform;
• whether there is somewhere suitable for staff to rest if needed;
• whether toilet facilities are easily accessible;
• whether cold drinking water is available;
• whether managers and supervisors have been trained on health and safety issues relating to the menopause.

This is valid as of 18th October 2023.

(Australia)

SafeWork NSW has fined a food delivery company for not adequately training more than 1,000 food delivery riders in hazard and fatigue management, road safety, the use of PPE, and work health and safety duties and obligations.

This comes as the Minns Labor Government introduced a bill to parliament that, if passed, would see increased fines for non-compliance with Work Health and Safety regulations.

SafeWork NSW Inspectors recently met with representatives from Fantuan to discuss rider safety trends identified in recent compliance activities and assess Fantuan’s compliance with Part 4.11 of the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2017.

Under 4.11 of the WHS regulations, platforms must supply high-vis personal protective equipment to food delivery riders (FDR), provide food delivery induction training to FDRs and ensure FDRs have successfully completed training.

SafeWork NSW issued Fantuan with a number of improvement notices in relation to induction training provided not being adequate or completed and failing to keep records of training in accordance with regulations. Fantuan were also issued with four penalty notices worth a total of $13,600.

Safework will be following up with the corporation on the matter and failure to comply with any future improvement notice can result in a fine of up to $332,611 for the corporation.

There have been eight fatalities involving food delivery riders in NSW since January 2018. Two of those fatalities occurred in 2023.

This is valid as of 16th October 2023.