Employee Injured | Health and Safety | Kangs Regulatory Solicitors
The charitable organisation responsible for the running of London Zoo has been fined as the result of an breach of health and safety when an employee falling from a step ladder which was known to be faulty.
Following its own investigation, the Zoological Society of London notified Westminster City Council which subsequently brought the prosecution.
The Circumstances | Kangs Health and Safety Solicitors
- On 16 July 2016 the employee was working in the hawk aviary, carrying out general cleaning duties, when the ladder collapsed causing soft tissue damage and strained muscles in her neck and back and concussion.
- According to reports, the ladder was due to be thrown away because it was defective but it had not been clearly labelled as faulty and was brought back into use due to the zoo having a shortfall of ladders.
The Hearing | Kangs Health and Safety Advisory Solicitors
- At Westminster Magistrates’ Court, guilty pleas were offered for two breaches of Health and Safety legislation.
- The District Judge originally calculated that the starting point in respect of each breach was a fine of £150,000, but he reduced the total of the fines to £200,000, in order to reflect the early guilty pleas.
- That sum was then reduced to £100,000 in view of the Zoological Society of London’s charitable status, which the Judge ruled justified a lower fine than that suggested by the Sentencing Guidelines.
- Mitigation resulted in the fine being further reduced to £40,000.
Responsibilities To Employees | Kangs Health and Safety Team
An employer has a significant duty to:
- protect the health, safety and welfare of all employees and other people who might be affected through the course their business.
- continuously assess risks in the workplace.
- reduce any risks which may from time to time become apparent.
Additionally, an employer should:
- provide training on how to deal with potential risks
- provide information about the risks and the protection provided
- provide training on how to deal with the risks
- consult employees on health and safety issues
- maintain records showing that the above tasks have been conducted regularly.
How Can We Help? | Kangs Health and Safety Solicitors
Who Can I Contact For Help? | Kangs Criminal Defence Solicitors
Please feel free to contact our team through any of the solicitors named below who will be happy to provide you with some initial advice about any Health and Safety issues at our offices located in London, Birmingham and Manchester.
Hamraj Kang
hkang@kangssolicitors.co.uk
07976 258 171 | 020 7936 6396 | 0121 449 9888
John Veale
jveale@kangssolicitors.co.uk
0121 449 9888 | 020 7936 6396
Tim Thompson
tthompson@kangssolicitors.co.uk
020 7936 6396 | 0121 449 9888
