Suffolk Malt Company Fined £100,000 after Worker Falls from Ladder

A man was injured whilst working after falling 2 metres from a ladder at Paul’s
Malt Limited, based in West Knapton.

The Agency Worker was in the process of checking the fill level of the malt in
the containers he was loading for export prior to closing the hopper feed.

Scarborough Magistrates’ Court were informed that an agency worker
employed with Paul’s Malt Limited sustained two fractures to his right
foot and bruising to his chest and head injuries.

A HSE investigation into the May 2015 incident at the malting company found
that the company had not carried out a suitable assessments of the work at
height involved, especially with regard to the job of closing the zipped flaps on
the fabric liners used to line containers that were being loaded with malt.

The company had developed a system of work which involved a propped 4-metre
ladder against the rear of the container to gain access to the zipped flap. The ladder
was too long and was also propped at a shallow angle.  The ladder subsequently
slipped outwards at the foot causing the agency worker to fall with the ladder.

Paul’s Malt Limited based in Suffolk pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(1) of the
Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, and was fined £100,000 and ordered to pay
costs of £2,257.

Working at height is a serious matter and appropriate assessments, equipment and
methods of work should be used each time someone is doing the job.

When using a ladder, employees should have access to the correct length ladder to
perform the job, they shouldn’t be using too short or too long a ladder when undertaking
work, various sized ones are available from CSS Worksafe and other safety devices are
also available when needed. For more information or to purchase please call 0800 783 0757.