Fine for employer after worker killed in distribution centre

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Royal Mail has been convicted of serious health and safety offences at Reading Crown Court, in a prosecution brought by the Health and Safety Executive, following the death of an employee and CWU member in 2006 at the Royal Mail Heathrow Worldwide Distribution Centre (HWDC).

The company was fined £90,000 plus £42,529 costs after pleading guilty to breaching Section 2 of the Health and Safety At Work Act 1974 in connection with a fatal accident in the yard at HWDC which lead to the death of CWU member and HGV yard shunter driver Colin Smith age 57 who was crushed to death between a Trailer and a reversing HGV Articulated Lorry Tractor Unit as it was coupling up. He suffered horrific injuries and was pronounced dead at the site in Langley, near Slough, shortly after the accident on September 5, 2006.

Royal Mail had accepted breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act by not anticipating such dangers could exist in the yard of the centre, which processes international mail. The court was told that had safety measures been introduced to prevent pedestrians being hit by reversing vehicles in such a way, Mr Smith may still be alive today. Royal Mail stated that it had now introduced safety measures to ensure people cannot be trapped in such a way, advising drivers to park their own vehicles directly in front of trailers when removing Suzie-locks. The Court was told during the trial no one had any idea why Mr Smith had placed himself between the reversing tractor and the trailer.

In accordance with Sentencing Guidelines, the judge said he had reduced the fine by 25 per cent as Royal Mail had changed its plea to guilty.

Section 2 of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 states: It shall be the duty of every employer to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of all his employees.

HSE Inspector Karl Howes stated in his report that; "the incident happened when a Royal Mail HGV driver was reversing his tractor unit to line up with a trailer parked on one of the loading bays at HWDC. After lining up his vehicle, the driver left his cab and walked to the back of the unit to complete the manoeuvre but found Mr Smith had been trapped between the tractor unit and the trailer. Mr Smith had been removing a 'Suzie Coupling lock' from the trailer at the time and suffered fatal injuries. This was a tragic accident which could have been easily prevented if Royal Mail had exercised proper control of vehicle activities at the Heathrow Distribution Centre. The company failed to adequately assess the risk to shunters working in the yard or to identify and rectify the unsafe system and this contributed to Mr Smith's death. In areas where vehicles are manoeuvring, employers have a legal duty to ensure that work can be done safely. Royal Mail's guilty plea demonstrates that they acknowledge the failings and since the accident they have put measures in place to prevent a recurrence."

CWU Health and Safety Officer Dave Joyce said:

"I give a degree of credit to the employer for changing its plea to guilty in this case, and also acknowledge the circumstances of the accident but the truth is Royal Mail got off light! When you consider the Postal Regulator fined Royal Mail £11.4 million in 2006 for quality of service failures, this fine is paltry on an organisation with a £9,560million turnover and fines like this are no deterrent or incentive to improve safety management and place little value on a lost life. "The victim's grieving family were devastated by the accident and their loss is immeasurable. No way does this fine reflect their loss and grief."

"Whenever we get a fatality in Royal Mail, I hope it's the last. Distribution yards can be dangerous places without safe systems in place. In December a near identical accident occurred in Royal Mail's Leeds Depot and luckily the victim escaped with minor injuries. "The lessons need to be learned from these incidents and we need to work together. Royal Mail management working with CWU Safety Reps must ensure effective controls to stop further similar accidents. Local managers need to pay more attention to yard safety and need to listen to CWU Safety Reps more often. That's crucial and the most important thing is stopping this happening again. I'll be seeking discussions and some assurances from Royal Mail on this point" Dave promised.

On 1st March the HGV Driver who was driving the reversing tractor unit at the time of the accident was found not guilty of charges also brought by the HSE, having been charged with breaching Section 7 of the Health and Safety at Work Act. His Trial began on 22 February. Both the CWU, the CWU Lawyers and Royal Mail had requested that the charges be dropped against the Driver who was a friend and colleague of the deceased, but the case was still pursued by the Health and Safety Executive and Prosecuting Counsel. Dave commented "I firmly believe that the acquittal of the other driver was absolutely the right verdict under the circumstances, taking everything into account. That remained my position from the beginning. The primary duty of care rests with the employer." Judge Stephen John confirmed that there had been a request from Royal Mail to drop the charges against the other driver.

Summing up, Judge Stephen John described the incident as a "distressing case" and said: "No one has suggested that this was anything other than an accident. It has not been suggested that any individual employed by Royal Mail was reckless or displayed a cavalier attitude towards health and safety. The judge added that Mr Smith, who lived in Reading, had been a "diligent" worker and was well-regarded in Royal Mail HWDC, which employs 1,600 people at the Heathrow depot. It is an additional tragedy in this case that the driver of the tractor unit was a friend of Mr Smith and no one will ever know why Mr Smith was standing between a tractor and a trailer in the way of the reversing vehicle, which had a "substantial" blind spot area.

In a statement to the press after the trial and sentencing, a spokesperson for Mr Smith's family said they were relieved the case was finally over after more than three years and that the big thing for them really was the acquittal of Mr Smith's work colleague which was definitely the right thing and that they hope he can move on with his life because it's been really hard for him and this gives closure for all of us.

Trial Judge Stephen John praised Mr Smith's family for their "courage and dignity" by showing their support to Mr Smith's colleague and passed on his condolences to them.