Tesco has been hit with a £500,000 fine after a worker plummeted 30 ft through a skylight in a Merseyside branch.
Workman Andrew Burgess fell while carrying out maintenance at Tesco’s Liscard branch in 2014, Liverpool Crown Court heard last Friday.
Although he managed to avoid breaking a bone, he suffered cuts, bruises and muscle damage and needed weeks off work for physiotherapy, according to the Liverpool Echo.
The court ordered Tesco Maintenance to pay £300,000 in damages, while Tesco Stores will fork out £200,000.
The Liverpool Echo reported that workers had been on the roof at the premises on seven or eight occasions in the preceding five years, and the judge said it was “astonishing” that a fall had not taken place earlier.
A Tesco spokesman said: “There’s nothing more important than the safety of our colleagues and customers, so we are extremely sorry this incident took place. As a result of the accident, we’ve enhanced the safety procedures used for this type of maintenance.”
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