Hefty health and safety fines for UK delivery company

A UK parcel delivery company has been ordered to pay more than £130,000 in fines and costs, after it was found guilty of serious health and safety breaches.

Buckinghamshire-based Delivered UK found itself facing legal action after an investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) revealed that the company had taken insufficient measures to prevent its forklift trucks from colliding with pedestrians upon entry and exit from its stock buildings.

The investigation, which came after a Delivered UK employee was knocked down by a reversing forklift and subsequently hospitalised in 2014, found that the company had failed to conduct proper risk assessments with relation to loading and unloading its forklifts.

At Reading Crown Court on 23 September 2016, HSE said that Delivered UK’s yard was not organised in such a way that would allow pedestrians or workers on foot to access vehicles parked in other areas of the site safely.

It added that the company had failed to assess or introduce sufficient barriers to segregate on-foot workers from forklift drivers and vehicles.

A Court heard also that one employee had suffered serious fractures and crush injuries to his left leg after he was knocked down by a forklift in 2014 and became entangled with the vehicle’s rear wheel.

Delivered UK pleaded guilty to all charges under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and was fined £120,000. The company was also ordered to pay £10,783 in costs – and was issued with an improvement notice by HSE.

Delivered UK has not commented on the case.