Businesses must immediately take action to manage their known risks - identifying and listing them is not enough, says WorkSafe New Zealand.

This follows the first sentencing under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 of Budget Plastics Ltd for health and safety breaches after a worker’s hand was dragged into a machine while he was pouring recycled plastic into it on 6 April 2016.
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Budget Plastics Ltd appeared in the Palmerston North District Court on 23 May 2017 for sentencing, and in a judgment released yesterday the court fined the company $100,000 and ordered reparation of $37,500.

Employers must actively manage risks to ensure workers go home healthy and safe according to WorkSafe New Zealand.

On successive days in March 2016, two different workers sustained severe injuries to their hands while using a bench saw. Neither injury was notified and WorkSafe only became aware of the injuries when one of the victims complained to WorkSafe nearly two months after the incidents.
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Today in the North Shore District Court, Quality Kitchens NZ Ltd and Quality Construction NZ Ltd (which have the same sole director) were fined a total $78,000 for health and safety breaches. Quality Kitchens was ordered to pay reparations of $21,828.89 and Quality Construction was ordered to pay reparations of $30,083.84.

Failure to adequately assess and control the risks of working near live electricity left a trainee worker with serious burns, says WorkSafe.
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Wellington Electricity engaged Northpower to carry out maintenance work on roadside transformers in the Wellington region. Two Northpower employees were working in Karori on 27 May 2014 when a bracket fell onto live contacts causing an electrical short, resulting in a flashover. The victim sustained serious burns that required specialist treatment from the burns unit.