Pub Fined for Unsafe Conditions for School-age Workers

The Hare and Hounds pub in Devon has been prosecuted for three health and safety offences by Teignbridge District Council. Last December, a 15-year-old received a fracture and lacerated finger at the public house. Council inspectors found that the young people were expected to use dangerous machinery in the pub’s commercial kitchen.

The Council commented: "The lad had been given the task of dicing spinach, which he was manually pushing down the feed shute." There was no protection from the machine’s moving blade.

The pub’s owners, Buccaneer Holdings, pleaded guilty to failing to provide risk assessments for employing young persons and other breaches of the law. The pub employed 16 school-age children, some as young as 14 in its kitchen. Magistrates fined the company £3,000 for each offence and awarded costs of £1,500.
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