Handling hazardous chemicals: successful prosecution of restaurant business for failing to provide safe work environment

An unnamed food and catering business pleaded guilty to contravening the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 for failing to provide a safe system of work, which exposed a young teenage worker to a hazardous cleaning product.

On 8 January 2018, two young workers were asked to clean the kitchen floor with the ‘Tornado’ cleaning product, which is hazardous and corrosive to human skin. One of the workers suffered a chemical burn to their foot caused by the undiluted Tornado.

The worker had to receive a skin graft for the burn, which later became infected.

The Southport Magistrates Court identified the following shortcomings of the business:

• The worker was still in high school and had not been formally inducted into the company since commencing work. He had only been shown how to undertake basic duties.
• The defendant provided instructions for the correct procedure to dilute the cleaning chemical but didn’t ensure that workers complied with the procedure.
• The defendant had material safety data sheets in the workplace and provided gloves and goggles but didn’t strictly enforce that the casual workers wear closed in leather/rubber style boots.

The defendant was ordered to pay a $50,000 fine.