Health And Safety In Rural Land Management

• Published date: 25 July 2022
• Subject Matter: Employment and HR, Litigation, Mediation & Arbitration, Health & Safety, Personal Injury
• Law Firm: Shepherd and Wedderburn LLP
• Author: Mr Hamish Lean

Agricultural and rural settings present significant health and safety risks, which must be carefully managed and mitigated by employers and landowners operating in the sector. The Health and Safety Executive's (HSE) annual report into workplace fatal injuries (published on 6 July 2022) disclosed that, of the 123 workers killed in work-related accidents across the United Kingdom in 2021/22, 22 deaths occurred in the agriculture sector. Only last month, a teenage farmer was killed in an accident involving a bale-wrapping machine.

Breaches of health and safety matters are best illustrated by several court prosecutions since the start of the year:

• In February, a farmer was prosecuted after a fatal incident on farmland in Leeds. An 83-year old man was trampled and killed by cattle while following a public right of way across a farm with his wife, who also suffered serious injuries. The cattle were with their calves, which greatly increased the risk posed to any members of the public accessing the field. The farmland's owner pled guilty to a breach of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 for failing to implement measures mitigating the risk caused by his livestock. He was sentenced to a 12-week suspended prison sentence and was required to pay an '878 fine, plus '7,820.30 in costs.
• In March, a farmer was prosecuted after his four-year-old nephew was run over after falling from a farm vehicle. Children under 13 are prohibited from riding on, or operating, vehicles used in agricultural operations. The farmer pled guilty to a breach of the 1974 Act. He was sentenced to a 26-week prison sentence (suspended for 18 months), a community order (which included 250 hours of unpaid work), and ordered to pay costs of over '5,000.
• In March, a farmer was prosecuted following a worker suffering multiple injuries as a consequence of becoming entangled in a potato harvester. The HSE investigation identified that the farmer had failed to implement a safe stop procedure, which would have prevented the accident from happening. The farmer was fined approximately '5,000 and required to pay costs of just under '6,000.
• A livestock auction mart was also prosecuted and fined after an employee was fatally injured by a dairy bull they were helping to load onto a lorry. During the subsequent investigation, it was identified that there were insufficient barriers for those handling livestock to shelter behind if the animals became unsettled. The company was fined '18,000.

Overview

Given...