A kitchen chef was burnt with boiling oil after a restaurant failed to follow Health & Safety standards and ensure the safety of its employees.

A court heard the TGI Friday’s chef was burned after losing grip of a pan of hot oil. He suffered burns to his shin and foot.

Unsafe practice

The court also heard an unsafe practice had developed in which kitchen staff cleaned deep fat fryers before waiting for cooking oil to properly cool down.

Sentence

TGI Friday’s holding company Thursday’s (UK) accepted it broke the Health & Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.

It was fined £60,000 and ordered to pay costs of £15,900.

The prosecuting local authority, Trafford Council, said: “Clearly, burns from hot oil can be very serious and although this was a nasty accident the chef’s injuries could have been significantly worse.”

They added: “This prosecution sends out a strong message to other local businesses to make sure they put safe systems in place which allows their staff to do their jobs safely.”

The council stressed how important it is for organisations to make sure they have robust procedures in place that meet the necessary Health & Safety requirements.