Pallet Trucks UK, one of the country’s leading providers of pallet trucks and other manual handling equipment, is urging businesses to put safety first, as the Sentencing Council launches new guidelines that could see harsher penalties for the most serious health and safety offences.
The suggested fines in the new document could hit heights of £20m for corporate manslaughter offences, and £10m for the most serious health and safety offences. The aim is for the fine to have a substantial economic impact on offending businesses – enough of an impact to ensure they think twice about health and safety compliance in the future.
As a supplier of handling and lifting solutions, Pallet Trucks UK is no stranger to health and safety issues. The team regularly issue guidance and helpful information on operating their equipment safely, and the Midlands warehouse itself where the products are stored conforms to the highest safety standards.
Phil Chesworth, Managing Director of Pallet Trucks UK, says, “The Sentencing Council’s new guidelines of health and safety punishments send a strong message to UK businesses – that the health and safety of employees should be taken incredibly seriously. Businesses have an obligation to provide a safe and secure environment for their workers to operate in, as well as equipping them with properly maintained apparatus that is suitable for the work they’re doing. Any business found to be in breach of these obligations – especially if they’ve caused serious injury, or even death – should rightly be subjected to harsh punishment.
