Leeds firm fined after workers put in danger
The Health and Safety Executive told Magistrates at Leeds that First Class Post Ltd allowed employees to be lifted to heights of almost six metres in a box perched on a forklift truck.
The plastic box wasn’t fixed to the forklift and there was no protection from falls for the workers. The court was told HSE brought the prosecution after finding out about the company’s stocktaking practice.
An HSE investigation discovered employees were regularly put at risk during quarterly stock checks. They were lifted five to six metres in an unsuitable plastic box or a cage balanced on the forks of the truck. The risk of falling was magnified as there was no way to secure the box to the truck forks and no fixing points in the box to which a safety harness could be attached.
First Class Post Ltd of Silver Royd Business Park, Wortley, pleaded guilty to breaching the Work at Height Regulations 2005. The firm was fined ÂŁ2,500 and ordered to pay ÂŁ1,041 in costs.