Worker hospitalised for 50 days after slab injury

A company has been fined £300,000 and one of its directors has been handed a suspended jail sentence after an employee was left with life-threatening injuries in a warehouse accident.

The worker at Reading-based Classic Quartz Stone Ltd was struck by three large stone slabs in June 2022 and spent more than 50 days in hospital.

He did not speak English and was given insufficient training on how to move the slabs safely.

CCTV footage from the kitchen worktop wholesaler, which has also paid compensation in a civil claim, showed at least 175 health and safety breaches in the five weeks before the accident, Reading Borough Council said.

Director Monther Aries, 45, was given a 12-month jail term, suspended for 18 months, at Reading Crown Court on Monday.

Aries, of Edison Drive, Southall, must complete a 10-day rehabilitation order and 200 hours of unpaid work.

Rachel Eden, the council's lead member for public health and education, said: "Safety at work is a key right for all workers, and this was an incredibly serious case.

"It demonstrates the often-unseen hard work and dedication of Reading Council officers to ensure that employees in Reading are safe at work.

"Working conditions were found to be completely unacceptable and the employer showed a conscious and flagrant disregard to the safety of its employees and customers."