Company prosecuted after youth loses a finger

A steel company has been fined after a young employee had his finger amputated using unguarded cutting equipment.

Sharward Steel Fabrications was ordered to pay a total of £2,345.10 at Bury St Edmonds magistrates court after pleading guilty to a breach of Section 2 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.

It follows an incident in which a 16-year-old employee was working with the director of the firm cutting sheet metal on a guillotine when the boss was called away to take a phone call, leaving the worker to continue the work himself.

While carrying out the task he stepped on the foot pedal which brought the guillotine down and subsequently took the end of one of his fingers off.

An investigation found there was a lack of adequate guarding on the apparatus and inadequate training had been given to the youth.

Julie Jarvey, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspector, believes the company should have installed safety guards to avoid such incidents.

"Companies need to ensure proper risk assessments and training is carried out for this type of employee. This case illustrates how things can go wrong when risks are not properly controlled," she said.

The HSE has a number of guidelines for employers to ensure a safe environment for young workers which include assessing the risk of exposure to physical or biological chemical agents, types of equipment to be used and the need to provide adequate training.