Warburtons has been fined £1.9m after a worker trapped his arm in a running conveyor belt.
The agency worker was cleaning the bread line at Warburtons’ bakery in Eastwood, Nottingham, in August 2015 when his arm became trapped, leaving him with friction burns that required skin grafts, Nottingham Crown Court heard.
An investigation by the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) found the machine could have been fitted with localised guarding to prevent access between the conveyors.
Warburtons pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 11 of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 and was fined £1.9m as well as ordered to pay full costs of £21,459.
“Warburtons failed to guard the machine sufficiently to prevent access to the running conveyors, which in this case could have prevented the injuries,” said Edward Walker, HSE inspector, after the case.
“Employers should ensure all equipment used by agency and their own workers are sufficiently guarded and take appropriate measures if any deficiencies are found.”
Warburtons was fined £2m in January this year after a worker broke his back by falling nearly two metres at the bakery’s Wednesbury site.
Warburtons responded following the case by stating: “The health and safety of all our people is our first priority and we are deeply saddened that, on this occasion, our procedures failed to protect Wayne [the injured worker]. We have taken the necessary action across our bakeries to prevent this happening again.”
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