Violence prosecution

Date: 7 September 2010

Newsagent chain Martin McColl has been prosecuted for failing to protect employees from workplace violence.

Cheshire West and Chester Council took action after the branch manager was seriously assaulted in an early-morning robbery at the Winsford branch in November 2008. In the incident she was knocked unconscious and suffered a fractured eye socket. The company pled guilty to a breach of Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act and were fined £5,000 with £5,505 costs at Northwich Magistrates’ Court on 25 August.

The Council’s Health and Safety Enforcement Team found that the company had failed to ensure that a risk assessment was in place to protect employees against violence and aggression despite the foreseeable risk. The shop had a history of problems and had had a previous robbery in the past month.

A nearby local authority, Trafford Council, had issued five Improvement Notices to Martin McColl between 2008 and 2009 following several incidents where employees were assaulted at its stores in Manchester.

In mitigation, the company told the court that it had no related convictions and had cooperated with the investigation. It now ensures that two workers are present when stores open and it has provided them with training on workplace violence. The CCTV has been repaired in the Winsford store and a time-delay safe installed.

Councillor Lynn Riley, Executive Member for Community and Environment at Cheshire West and Chester Council said: “This is the first prosecution of its type for this authority and I am reassured with the outcome. It is unacceptable for any company to leave its staff open to violent and aggressive attacks.  Advice and support on health and safety issues is available to all businesses from the local authority – there really is no excuse to fail store employees in such a way.”

Cheshire West and Chester Council press release