"Suffolk business fined £140k as worker lost part of finger"

The man was working for pork producer C&K Meats Limited at its site in Potash Lane on Mid Suffolk Business Park, Eye, on April 12, 2022.

The Ukrainian national, who was 31 at the time, was told to remove pigs' tails using hydraulic cutters, which were not designed for the task.

Whilst using the cutting mechanism, he caught his left index finger and severed it...

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that the company failed to ensure the health, safety and welfare at work of all its employees.

This is because the firm provided equipment that was not suitable for the task.

It was determined that hydraulic cutters were only meant to be used to remove pigs' legs.

In addition, only trained butchers would do the removal of pigs' tails with a knife, but the company failed to implement this.

During the investigation, it was also found that training provided for the process of removing pigs' tails was only in English, including for migrant workers whose first language may not be English...

On Friday, June 20, the company was fined £140,000 and ordered to pay £5,513 in costs at Peterborough Magistrates' Court…

[The Resource Centre was not able to contact Mid Suffolk Business Park to invite a response to the allegations; if a response is received in future this page will be updated accordingly.]