A restaurant at Manchester’s Trafford Centre has been fined £60,000 after a chef was burnt with boiling oil.
Minshull Street Crown Court heard that TGI Friday’s, situated in the Centre’s Great Hall, was prosecuted on behalf of Trafford Council for health and safety failures.
The case related to an incident in 2014, when a kitchen chef was moving a pan of hot oil with another member of staff, which subsequently slipped from their grip. The chef was burnt by the oil on the shin and foot.
The court was told that the company had failed to ensure the safety of employees, because an unsafe practice had developed where some of the kitchen staff were cleaning deep fat fryers at night before waiting for the cooking oil to properly cool down, meaning that they were handling hot oil.
After pleading guilty to the offence under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, the main holding company, Thursday’s (UK), was fined and also ordered to pay costs totalling £15,961.
Trafford Council’s executive member for housing and strategic planning David Hopps said: “Clearly burns from hot oil can be very serious and, although this was a nasty accident, the chef’s injuries could have been significantly worse.
“This prosecution sends out a strong message to other local businesses to make sure they put safe systems in place which allows their staff to do their jobs safely.”
He added: “This case demonstrates the importance of companies making sure they have robust procedures in place that meet the necessary health and safety requirements.
“As a council, the protection and safety of all local employees is paramount. We will always work with businesses to help them improve and maintain standards, but as this case demonstrates, we will not hesitate to take action against those who put their employees and others at risk.”
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