ECJ EUROPEAN Cleaning Journal

A cleaning firm in the UK has been fined £20,000 after an employee suffered chemical burns when working at a Middlesbrough branch of McDonald's.

The unnamed 50-year-old staff member was cleaning extraction systems in an overnight shift when he knelt in a pool of spilled chemical cleaning solution.

He suffered serious burns that later required skin grafts and was left with permanent scarring. Cleaning company Northern Shire Facilities Management was fined £20,000 and ordered to pay £24,382.23 in costs following a sentencing hearing at Teesside Crown Court in July.

An investigation by Middlesbrough Council's Public Protection Team found that the man had not received appropriate training to carry out the work safely, had been given inadequate personal protective equipment and had used a cleaning product which had not been assessed for risk.

The court heard the company had failed to assess the hazards of the task or the chemicals involved and had breached its duty under Section 2 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 by failing to protect the health, safety and welfare of its employees.

Speaking after the hearing councillor Ian Blades, Middlesbrough Council's Executive member for neighbourhoods, said: "This was a completely avoidable incident that has had life-changing consequences for the victim. Basic safety procedures and training were ignored and the result was a worker being seriously injured.

"This case should serve as a warning to all businesses that health and safety must never be an afterthought. We will always take firm action where workers are put at risk."

The incident took place in September 2019 at the McDonald's branch in Coulby Newham.