Manufacturing company fined £600k after fatal workplace incident
Friday 28th November 2025
A manufacturing company has been fined £600,000 after an employee was killed in an incident at its premises. The company pleaded guilty to breaching section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.
The employee was fatally injured when a heavy pallet fell and trapped them. The pallet, weighing 592kg, was stacked on top of another and could not be moved until it was unloaded and without the assistance of other employees.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) revealed that the company failed to carry out a suitable risk assessment for the storage of pallets, particularly regarding their height, weight, and stability. The company was also found to have stacked the pallets improperly on the floor without using a racking system, despite a procedure for pallet handling.