New publications this month:

SENTENCING COUNCIL (ENGLAND AND WALES)

Health and safety offences, corporate manslaughter and food safety and hygiene offences: Definitive guideline

This document presents guidance on the sentencing of health and safety, corporate manslaughter and food safety and hygiene offences. Courts are required to follow these guidelines unless they are satisfied it would be contrary to the interests of justice to do so. Guidelines apply to offences committed by organisations and individuals.

The guideline sets out factors to consider when determining fines and periods of custody in response to an offence. Offences should first be assessed in terms of the defendant’s culpability and the level of harm. Then courts are expected to determine the starting point for the sentence and adjusting this according to mitigating factors, guilty pleas submitted or grounds for a reduction. The guideline also requires that compensation or ancillary orders should be considered in all cases.

The guideline requires consideration of the financial standing of an organisation when determining the starting point for a fine. This may be as much as £4,000,000 for an organisation with a turnover of £50,000,000 or above. The guideline requires that it should not be cheaper to offend than to take appropriate precautions.

This guideline was published on 3 November 2015 and comes into force on 1 February 2016. The guideline applies to all organisations and individuals sentenced on or after 1 February 2016, regardless of the date of the offence.

Background

The Sentencing Council introduced these guidelines to address the lack of familiarity with offences of this type on the part of magistrates and judges. Inconsistencies were also identified in how various factors were weighted and applied in reaching sentencing decisions across the country.

HEALTH AND SAFETY EXECUTIVE (HSE) AND INSTITUTION OF OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH (IOSH)

Occupational health risk management in construction

This new joint guidance document provides advice on identifying and preventing or controlling occupational health risks associated with the construction industry. Guidance is also provided on occupational health provision and health surveillance programmes.

HEALTH AND SAFETY EXECUTIVE (HSE)

HSG262 – Managing skin exposure risks at work (Second edition)

Guidance is provided on assessment of skin exposure risks and the means to control exposure. The second edition clarifies the guidance provided and updates references to legislation.

MS37 – Handling cytotoxic drugs in isolators in NHS pharmacies

This updated guidance is aimed at NHS pharmacies and licensed contractors at risk of exposure cytotoxic drugs. Isolators are a key control measure in preventing employee exposure to these drugs. They also protect the product from microbiological contamination during drug reconstitution.

The updated 2015 edition of this document has been updated to reflect current practices.

Forklift collision injures worker

An Essex haulage firm has been fined after an employee was struck by a forklift truck (FLT) driven by an untrained operative.

An employee was working at Unico Services UK’s warehouse in Rayleigh. While he was standing taking parcels from a cage, he was struck by a load carried by a FLT driven by another employee. He sustained a broken hip and has been unable to return to full time work since the incident.

Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigations revealed that the person operating the FLT had received no relevant suitable training. The defendant’s management was aware that he was operating the FLT from time to time before the incident.

Unico Services UK Limited, which is registered at Charter House, Leigh Road, Leigh-On-Sea but trades from Brook Road, Rayleigh, Essex, admitted breaching Regulation 9(1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations (PUWER) 1998.

Regulation 9(1) states that every employer shall ensure that all persons who use work equipment have received adequate training for purposes of health and safety.

The company was fined £18,000, and HSE was awarded full prosecution costs of £1,302.

Worker badly burned after digging into electricity cable

A man sustained serious, life-changing injuries after striking a 415v electricity cable during work to refurbish a pharmacy in central London.

The labourer struck the underground cable while digging a trench during work to lay a new sewage pipe. After suffering burns to his body and throat, the 41-year-old man is unable to work and is now registered disabled.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigated the incident in Edgware Road, in July 2013, and prosecuted the company in control of the work, Medpharma Ltd, after deciding it contravened health and safety laws.

At Southwark Crown Court today, Medpharma Ltd was fined £60,000 and ordered to pay £40,000 in costs after being found guilty at an earlier trial to breaching the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007.

Carpenter in court after trainee’s fingers were severed

The owner of a Bedfordshire joinery and carpentry business pleaded guilty to failing to report an accident, where a person had two fingers amputated, which had occurred at his workshop. 

Alex Defeo, a woodworking trainee, was employed at Fabs Designs’ workshop in Bedford, Bedfordshire, when the incident occurred on 4 December 2012.

On Wednesday 4 November 2015, Luton Magistrates’ Court was told that Mr Pasqualone did not report the incident, as is required by law. HSE only became aware of it at a later stage through Mr Defeo’s family.

This was a requirement for all employers under Regulation 3(1) of the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995.

Fabio Pasqualone Trading as Fabs Designs, of 110 Risborough Road Bedford, was fined £200 and ordered to pay £500 in costs.