A poultry company has been sentenced after two workers were maimed by moving machinery.

In two separate factory incidents, a worker lost a thumb and an engineer a finger.

1st Incident

A Lithuanian agency worker had been assigned to work in an evisceration room, which processes about 200 birds a minute. He was shown how to remove chicken intestines by a fellow Lithuanian operative – but who was not a trainer. Shortly after starting, the worker’s thumb got caught in a shackle on a moving production line. Colleagues were unable to reach an emergency stop in time and the thumb was severed.

2nd Incident

An engineer was in the evisceration room changing machinery blades. Against company policy, he was in a ‘danger zone’ that should have had the power isolated beforehand. 

With the line still running, his finger became trapped when trying to prevent two entwined shackles from damaging machinery. Unable to reach the emergency stop, his finger was severed.

Total Fine
£ 0

Inappropriate Controls

Health & Safety Executive investigators found the firm had failed to make sure:

  • Measures were in place to mitigate the consequences of workers becoming trapped in shackles in the first instance.
  • Safe isolation procedures were followed in the second.

2 Sisters Food Group pleaded guilty to breaking the:

  • Provision & Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 in the first incident – it was fined £200,000 and ordered to pay costs of £4,031.
  • Health & Safety at Work etc Act 1974 in the second incident – it was fined £74,000 and ordered to pay £4,386 in costs.

The HSE said “These incidents could so easily have been avoided had appropriate controls been in place”.

It stressed companies should be aware it will not hesitate to take enforcement action against those falling below the required standards.

"These incidents could so easily have been avoided had appropriate controls been in place".
Health and Safety Executive

Support

If you are worried about how you are managing health and safety, then contact Ellis Whittam on 0345 226 8393. Ellis Whittam’s Health and Safety support will ensure you are compliant.

Find what you were looking for?

Our FREE resources library contains over 200 searchable blogs, guides and templates focused around Employment Law and Health & Safety issues that employers face on a day-to-day basis.

Get your FREE download

We combine the service quality of a law firm with the certainty of fixed-fee services to provide expert, solutions-focused Employment LawHR and Health & Safety support tailored to employers.

Call us on 0345 226 8393.

Get your FREE download

We combine the service quality of a law firm with the certainty of fixed-fee services to provide expert, solutions-focused Employment LawHR and Health & Safety support tailored to employers.

Call us on 0345 226 8393.

Get your FREE consultation

Submit your details and one of our team will be in touch.

Activate your free trial

The rota module has been built on our brand new technology platform, so you’ll need to create a new account that you can then integrate with your existing Youmanage/PeopleNest account.

Follow these steps to activate your trial

  1. Log in to your existing Youmanage/PeopleNest account
  2. Navigate to admin mode
  3. In the menu, navigate to Integrations > Marketplace
  4. On the ‘PeopleNest – Rota Module’ line, click ‘configure’
  5. Create your new account – because we’ve built the new Rota Module on our brand new PeopleNest platform, you’ll need to create an account. Make sure you use the same email address as your admin account in Youmanage (can use Microsoft/Google authentication)
  6. Sign-in using your new login details
  7. Read the message about the integration and click continue if you are happy to proceed
  8. It takes a few minutes for your employees to start pulling through, then you’re ready to go!

Book a consultation

One of our team will be in touch as soon as possible. If we miss you, we’ll send over a Calendly invite so you can choose a more convenient time and date for a callback. 

Get your FREE consultation

Submit your details and one of our team will be in touch.

Search...

Get your FREE consultation

Submit your details and one of our team will be in touch.

Get your FREE consultation

Submit your details and one of our team will be in touch.

Before you go…

We can help with that HR problem or health and safety query. If you’re an employer, leave your details below and our team will call you back.

Register your interest

Submit your details and one of our team will be in touch.

Get your FREE consultation

Submit your details and one of our team will be in touch.

Download your FREE guide

Submit your details below.

Request a callback

Submit your details and one of our team will be in touch.

Need some help?

Call our team now on:

0345 226 8393

Request a Callback

Submit your details and one of our team will be in touch.

Request a Callback
Hi, how can we help?
Click the button below to chat to an expert.