Bread supplier fined after employee loses finger at Northamptonshire plant | TheBusinessDesk.com

A nationwide bakery has been fined over £360,000 after an employee lost a finger in machinery at its Northamptonshire site.

Jacksons Bakery, a major supplier of bread for commercial sandwich production, was fined after an engineer’s right hand was caught in a flour sifting machine.

The incident occurred on February 2, 2023, at the Corby plant, where a 31-year-old engineer was helping clear a blockage.

After a safety guard was removed, he checked the tension of a drive belt, unaware that the machine had been switched back on.

His hand was pulled into the bottom pulley, resulting in the partial amputation of his right middle finger.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that Jacksons Bakery failed to ensure, as far as reasonably practicable, the health, safety, and welfare of its employees.

Specifically, there was a failure to implement a safe system of work, which required machinery to be isolated and locked off during maintenance when fixed guards were removed.

The HSE also discovered that engineers lacked clarity on when to isolate and use the ‘lock out tag out’ procedure due to inadequate training and instruction.

Jacksons Bakery, based at The Riverside Building, Liverstone Road, Hessle, East Yorkshire, pleaded guilty to violating section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.

The company was fined £366,666 and ordered to pay £5,386 in costs at a hearing at Wellingborough Magistrates’ Court on October 3, 2024.