Aldi Stores has been hit with a £1m fine after an incident which saw a driver receive severe foot injuries while using a powered pallet truck.
Derby Crown Court was told the driver had only been delivering to stores for two weeks before he suffered fractures to toes on his left foot in at the supermarket’s Somercotes, Derbyshire store in November 2013.
The driver had his foot reconstructed using wires and had to take almost six months off work to recover. He has since returned to work at the supermarket.
Aldi said it relied on new drivers shadowing other drivers and did not have a standardised, formal training programme in place for all drivers to undertake before they were able to use the equipment alone.
On 14 July Aldi pleaded guilty to two breaches to the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, following an investigation by Amber Valley Borough Council. It fined £1m and must pay £70,000 in costs.
Councillor David Taylor said: “This investigation and outcome will hopefully result in a renewed focus by Aldi to ensure that standards are maintained to ensure employees receive adequate protection from the risk of injury.”
