SUPERMARKET giant Tesco has been fined £160,000 after a member of staff at their Chadwell St Mary branch was seriously injured when a cage full of goods fell on them as they were unloading it from a lorry.
The employee suffered severe injuries, including a fractured pelvis, as a result of the incident and had to be rushed to hospital.
Thurrock Council’s Health and Safety and Legal teams brought the action because the roll cage, which is used to deliver goods to shops, should only be moved by two people. Tesco had a previous health and safety conviction for allowing a lone workers to move a cage at their branch in Waverley.
Tesco pleaded guilty to a charge under section two of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.
Cllr Rob Gledhill, Leader of Thurrock Council, said: “It is vital that workers are properly protected and safe when they are doing their jobs. We will always take action to ensure that proper standards are maintained by the borough’s employers.
“Both the Health and Safety and Legal teams have done an outstanding job bringing this case.
“The size of the fine should serve as a deterrent and a signal to employers that we take the health and safety or our residents and others who work in Thurrock very seriously.”
Tesco were ordered to pay a £160,000 fine, £18,118 costs to Thurrock Council and a victim surcharge of £120.
They all look like a cage has fell on them to me.