Worker amputation leads to two businesses prosecuted and fined

A manufacturing facility in Victoria was fined following an incident in which a worker’s finger was amputated while working on a packaging line. The injured worker was from a labour-hire company.

The host organisation, Askin (Vic) Pty Ltd, pleaded guilty to a charge of failing to:

• provide and maintain, so far as reasonably practicable, a safe working environment without health risks

• ensure that plant or systems of work that are, so far as reasonably practicable, safe and without health risks.

Askin (Vic) Pty Ltd was fined $40,000 and ordered to pay $4350 in costs without a recorded conviction.

Additionally, the labour hire company, Dekro Recruitment Pty Ltd, was fined $25,000 and ordered to pay costs of $2841 without conviction after pleading guilty to a charge of failing to provide and maintain a safe system of employment.

Incident and investigation

In May 2022, a labour hire worker was changing bags on the extraction system of a manufacturing line, a duty assigned to him a month after beginning his placement. His primary role had been working as a packer. While clearing the vent using a plastic pipe, the pipe was dragged into the vent’s valves, which caused the worker’s hand into contact with the valve’s blades. This resulted in a partial amputation and degloving injury to his middle finger.

WorkSafe Victoria’s investigation found a risk of serious injury to anyone operating the machine, as it lacked an interlocked guard to prevent contact with the paddle blade assembly while the extractor was in use.

The investigation concluded that it was “reasonably practicable” for Askin (Vic) to have installed an interlocked guard to prevent access to the hazardous parts of the machine. It was further determined that the company had not provided a “safe system of work” as the extractor had no risk assessment or written maintenance procedure. A proper procedure would have ensured that only trained personnel carried out bag replacements; that blockages were reported; that blockages were addressed by maintenance staff; and that the extractor was isolated during necessary actions. The company did not have these procedures.

Responsibilities of Host Organisations and Labour Hire companies

As discussed in a previous article Labour hire workers and WHS (courtenell.com.au), when a business engages a labour-hire company for staff, both businesses (i.e. the host employer and the labour-hire provider) must implement and maintain safe systems of work.

1) The host organisation must ensure that safe systems are in place for the work environment where the temporary worker will be employed, including proper training for the tasks to be performed.

2) The labour-hire company must have systems to communicate with or visit the host organisation to verify that the worker they have placed is adequately trained and supervised to perform the assigned tasks safely.

Both businesses must be aware of each other’s risk profiles and safety systems and ensure they are comprehensive and practical. Each must consult with the other on health and safety matters as per Section 46 of the WHS Act. Here is another example of a prosecution where two PCBUs did not properly consult: Judge emphasizes WHS duties are non-delegable (courtenell.com.au)

Courtenell provides training for host organisations and labour hire companies to understand their duties to consult on WHS matters and to each meet their legal obligations as PCBUs in their own right for the services or products they provide.

For more information on WHS training or WHS compliance services, or if you would like help to make your WHS management system even more robust, please feel free to contact us at train@courtenell.com.au or phone us on 02 9552 2066