Firms 'should heed health and safety warnings'
Commercial insurance
24th June 2009
Businesses have been urged to take notice of warnings and to ensure that they do not put their employees in danger.
Health and Safety Executive inspector Mark Burton stated: "Enforcement notices should be a wake-up call for companies to improve their health and safety procedures."
He added that the agency "will not accept" repeated offences and will prosecute where there is a serious risk of harm before an incident takes place.
The advice follows the prosecution of a firm in Merseyside, which was ordered to pay almost £55,000 for persistent heath and safety breaches.
Chemical factory TJ & S Jenkinson in Earlestown was served with 19 enforcement notices from September 2004 to October 2008 and was prosecuted for continually placing workers at risk.
The company pleaded guilty to numerous breaches of health and safety legislation, including failing to maintain a forklift truck and exposing staff to hazardous chemicals.
Worcestershire law firm Thursfields recently warned firms that cutting back on health and safety spending during the recession could be "dangerous and false economy".
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