The UK branch of Indian manufacturing giant Tata has been fined around £2M for Health and Safety breaches.
Two separate breaches of the Health and Safety at Work Act (1974) have left employees with life-changing injuries and Tata UK facing a total fine of £1.98M. The verdict at Northampton Crown Court emphasises the importance of companies meeting and exceeding HSE requirements.
From guard rails to construction safety signs, it is down to employers to ensure that risks are managed and workers’ safety is ensured. The HSE is being seen to take increasingly strict action against offending companies.
Inadequate Guarding
HSE investigators determined that in the first case, a 26-year-old man lost two fingers from his left hand while trying to clear a blockage on a steel tube manufacturing line. Just five months later, a 52-year-old man lost two thirds of his little finger when his hand was caught in a lathe. Ironically, he was in the process of receiving refresher training at the time.
Both incidents occurred at Tata UK’s plant in Corby, Northamptonshire, and in each case, the HSE identified a failure to appropriately guard and manage the risks arising from dangerous parts of machinery.
Avoidable Injuries
Judge Rupert Mayo, of Northampton Crown Court, ordered the company to pay fines totalling £1,985,000 (£185,000 for the first offence and £1.8m for the second offence) and costs of £22,500, saying the injuries were a result of “two subsequent and avoidable incidents.”
A spokesman for Tata Steel said: “The health and safety of our employees and contractors is our most important priority. Tata Steel constantly places a great deal of emphasis on creating a strong and ever-improving safety culture in the organisation – and in improving our processes and procedures. We want to ensure everyone working on our sites is safe.”
Counting the Cost
TATA is not the only company to face heavy fines for breaching worker safety. Last month, an engineering company in Birmingham was fined £50,000 plus costs when two electricians suffered severe burns while dismantling equipment at a site in Walsall.
And an energy company in Scotland was fined £1.75m for failing to repair a faulty valve. An employee suffered scalding when attempting to open the valve, which was known to be defective.
An HSE representative confirmed that in each case, the decision to prosecute is based on the HSE’s published enforcement strategy, while the magnitude of the fine is decided by the court.
However, there is a further price to pay beyond mere court fines for failing to protect employees. Companies that breach HSE regulations can expect to find themselves featured in local and national press. In the case of Tata, this could not have come at a worse time, just months after the company announced its intention to sell all or part of its UK business. The sale is currently on hold.
Finally, and most importantly, there is of course the human element, the overriding reason that the HSE exists. An accident at a factory in Bradford in 2014 led to the death of a 34-year old employee. Richard Perry fell 18 feet after climbing onto the roof and attempting to cover a skylight to reduce excessive heat in the factory. His employers were fined £120,000 for failing to adequately supervise Mr Perry.
His wife Samantha said: “Nobody should die at work and leave behind a young family and wife. He had his whole life ahead of him.”