A food-making giant has been fined nearly £600,000 after two workers suffered serious scald injuries at a site in Melton Mowbray.
Samworth Brothers Ltd, the manufacturer behind well-known brands such as Ginsters, West Cornwall Pasty Co. and Soreen, has been fined £594,000 for the injuries at its Kettleby Foods site.
The Leicestershire-based company, headquartered at Chetwode House on Samworth Way, entered a guilty plea to a breach of Section 2 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 at Birmingham Magistrates’ Court on September 4.
The prosecution, brought by the Health and Safety Executive, followed an investigation into an incident in which both men were burned by hot water while performing maintenance on steam pipework at the factory.
The two workers were tasked with replacing a faulty gasket in an isolation valve on steam pipework in the factory’s boiler room.
They were carrying out the job from a gantry positioned above the boiler, but this platform did not extend to the section of pipework requiring attention.
As a result, both men were forced to leave the gantry and position themselves directly on top of the boiler to reach the valve.
When they removed the gasket, hot water from the pipework splashed onto both workers, causing significant scalding.
A food-making giant has been fined nearly £600,000 after two workers suffered serious scald injuries at a site in Melton Mowbray
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One of the men sustained subdermal burns covering 4-5 per cent of his body, while his colleague suffered more extensive injuries, 9 per cent subdermal, second-degree burns.
The HSE’s investigation determined that Samworth Brothers had neither conducted a risk assessment for the task nor established a documented safe system of work.
Investigators also found that appropriate isolation and lock-off procedures were not in place when the maintenance was carried out, and that the work at height lacked adequate fall-prevention measures.
The probe also found no proper supervision or monitoring to ensure established processes were followed.
Samworth Brothers Ltd entered a guilty plea at Birmingham Magistrates’ Court on September 4 | GOOGLE
According to HSE guidance, tasks involving isolation require thorough advance planning, including preparing risk assessments, method statements, permits and isolation certificates.
Isolations must be verified as secure before any intrusive work begins, and work at height should be planned, supervised and performed by competent individuals with suitable equipment.
HSE Inspector Stacey Gamwell was unsparing in her assessment of the company’s failings.
She said: “A company this size should have known better. This was a wholly avoidable incident which could have resulted in even more serious consequences.”
She added: “Their failure led to severe and painful scalding injuries which should never have happened.
“The result handed down should serve as a warning to employers; when it comes to keeping people safe, HSE won’t hesitate to take action against firms which fall short.”
Beyond the fine, the court ordered Samworth Brothers to pay £5,834 in prosecution costs, a £2,000 victim surcharge and £6,000 in compensation to the injured worker.
All payments must be made by January 4 next year.