Graham Gilbert successfully prosecutes Holiday Inn Express for health and safety breach

25th November 2021

3PB’s specialist crime and regulatory law barrister, Graham Gilbert (pictured here) was recently successful in prosecuting the Holiday Inn Express, Dunstable for a health and safety breach.

In November 2018, a Holiday Inn Express employee was instructed by a manager to empty and clean a commercial oil fryer in the kitchen. The member of staff picked up the filled container and was immediately burned from hot oil melting through the thin plastic container that had been provided for the job. The individual dropped the container onto the floor, slipped and fell into the hot oil, receiving second and third degree burns to their arms, legs and torso, covering approximately 10% of their body.

The Gateway Hotel, Dunstable (known as The Holiday Inn Express) and RBH Hospitality Management were prosecuted for failings under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, sections 2(1) and 3(1), following a breach in their legal duty of care towards a member of staff. Both companies pleaded guilty and were ordered to pay £16,830 in fines and costs.

The case was also covered by various news outlets including SHP Safety and Health Practitioner and the Daily Bulletin.

To find out more about Graham’s expertise in this area, or to instruct him, please email his clerk, Chambers Director Stuart Pringle on [email protected] or call him on 01962 868 884.