Jewson fined for employee’s serious injuries

Builders merchant Jewson has been fined after an employee at its Great Yarmouth branch suffered serious injuries whilst at work.
Jewson Ltd was taken to court after an investigation by Great Yarmouth Borough Council’s environmental services department.

It came after a wooden pallet and heavy Thermalite blocks fell onto an employee in the merchant’s yard in Boundary Road.

The pallet and blocks had been placed on top of a stack of lightweight insulation boards to secure them against high winds, which were experienced on that day.

The employee was taken to hospital with a broken leg. He also had to have skin grafts.

At Great Yarmouth Magistrates’ Court Jewson Limited pleaded guilty to failing to discharge its duty to ensure the safety at work of an employee.

The merchant was fined £6,700 and told to pay £5,166.52 costs plus a £120 victim surcharge.

In a statement, a Jewson spokesperson said: “Jewson accepts the decision of the Court and has already taken measures to ensure that this type of regrettable incident does not reoccur.

“The Health and Safety of customers, employees, contractors and members of the public is our number-one priority and while we had a comprehensive health and safety management system in place at the time of the incident, there were clearly failures in applying those requirements fully at this site, at the time of the incident, which ultimately led to this regrettable incident. We continue to be focused on our goal of zero harm at all of our operations and working with all our colleagues to achieve this aim.”