On 16 October 2026, City Electrical Factors Limited was fined £4 million and ordered to pay £6,304 in costs at Birmingham Magistrates’ Court. The prosecution followed a serious loading incident at the company’s Proteus Switchgear Industrial Division in Telford.
Two years earlier, on 4 October 2024, a 40-year-old employee was acting as a “spotter” while a forklift loaded equipment onto a flatbed lorry. The 231kg load was not secured to the forklift. It fell on him, causing brain and spinal injuries so severe that he now lives in a care home and requires 24-hour care.
The company pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found there had been no risk assessment or lift plan, and employees had not been given appropriate information or instructions for an activity that happened regularly. It also found the load could have been attached to existing forklift anchor points, while the lorry-mounted crane was a safer alternative.
For construction contractors and small businesses, this case is a sobering reminder that a familiar, routine task can still carry serious risks. It also makes one point about insurance clear: a policy cannot remove an employer’s safety responsibilities, and it will not pay a criminal fine. Here are five practical lessons to take away.
1. A fine and an injury claim are not the same thing
The £4 million fine was imposed as a criminal penalty following a health and safety prosecution. It is not the same as compensation awarded or agreed in a civil claim, and businesses should not expect their insurance to pay a fine imposed for an offence. Policy wording and applicable law matter, but criminal fines are generally uninsurable.
An injured worker’s civil claim is a separate matter. Where an employer is legally liable for an employee’s injury or illness arising from work, employers’ liability (EL) insurance is designed to cover compensation and associated legal costs, subject to the policy terms and limit.
That distinction matters because the scale of a criminal penalty does not tell you the eventual value of an injury claim. In a catastrophic injury case, compensation can involve long-term care, loss of earnings and other substantial costs. A £10 million EL limit is common, but it is not automatically enough for every severe claim. Review whether your limit fits the nature and scale of your work, and ask your broker whether a higher limit or excess-layer cover is available.
The HSE’s account of this prosecution is available in its press release.
2. Check who is covered by your employers’ liability policy
In Great Britain, most employers must have employers’ liability insurance. The statutory minimum is £5 million, while many policies provide a £10 million limit. Check your arrangements rather than assuming a certificate covers every person working around your business.
The incident involved an employee carrying out a spotter role. Employees are not the only people whose status needs thought, however. Agency workers, casual labour, temporary staff and people engaged through labour providers can raise questions about which organisation is their employer and which policy responds. The answer depends on the working arrangements, legal status and policy wording.
If a worker is injured while unloading a delivery or assisting with a lift, uncertainty about who employed them can complicate an already difficult situation. Tell your broker how you use agency workers, casual labour and subcontractors. Ask specifically whether the policy arrangements reflect that setup, and who must arrange EL cover for each group.
3. Keep records of the plan, the assessment and supervision
HSE found no risk assessment or lift plan for the loading activity in this case. That absence was not just a paperwork gap: it pointed to a failure to work out how the load would be lifted, secured and moved safely, and who was responsible for the different steps.
HSE guidance says lifting operations should be planned by people with suitable competence, organised and supervised in proportion to the risks. A plan should address foreseeable hazards, the people and equipment needed, the sequence of work and the responsibilities of those involved. The detail should be proportionate: a routine operation may be covered by a suitable general plan, but that plan needs to be reviewed if conditions or equipment change.
The HSE guidance on planning and organising lifting operations is a useful starting point. On site, make sure the records are practical and current, not just filed away. They should reflect the actual load, equipment, location, people and method being used. Brief the team before the operation, check that workers understand their roles, and record changes when the conditions differ from the plan.
4. Delivery gates are not the end of a contractor’s responsibilities
Loading and unloading may happen at a warehouse, a supplier’s yard or a construction site, but the risks do not disappear when a vehicle arrives. HSE inspector Keeley Eves described loading and unloading as among the most hazardous transport activities in the workplace. A delivery can expose workers to moving vehicles, unstable loads, lifting equipment and poor coordination.
On projects with more than one contractor, the principal contractor has duties under the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 to plan, manage, monitor and coordinate the construction phase. That includes making suitable arrangements for deliveries and unloading as part of site-wide coordination. The contractor carrying out a particular lift also remains responsible for managing its own work and ensuring it is properly planned and carried out.
In practice, agree the delivery time, vehicle access, unloading location, lifting method and exclusion arrangements before the vehicle arrives. Make sure the person in charge on site and the delivery team understand who is doing what. If the intended equipment or location is unavailable, stop and review the plan rather than improvising around a changed situation.
5. Tell your broker what happens on site, not just what your business is called
Insurance is arranged around the activities and exposures a business declares. If your team uses forklifts, loads lorries, carries out lifting operations, or regularly has employees acting as spotters, tell your broker. A broad description such as “building contractor” or “wholesaler” may not give enough detail to check whether the policy fits the work.
Ask your broker to review the relevant cover, including employers’ liability limits and any policy conditions that may apply to the activities you carry out. Check who is responsible for insuring agency and temporary workers, and whether your contract requirements call for particular limits or evidence of cover. If you rely on a legal expenses or health and safety prosecution extension, check exactly what it covers: legal advice or defence costs may be covered under some policies, but that does not mean the fine itself is insured.
Moyak's construction contractor insurance guide explains why cover should reflect the work you actually do. You can also explore general contractor insurance and commercial combined insurance.
The practical next step
This prosecution is not a reason to assume every routine lift will result in a major incident. It is a reminder to make sure routine work has been thought through, equipment is suitable, loads are secured, people know their roles and supervision matches the risk. Where a safer method is available, it should be considered before work begins, not after an accident.
Take a fresh look at your lifting and delivery arrangements. Review your risk assessments and lift plans, check how agency or casual workers are engaged, and speak with your broker about the activities and limits shown in your insurance programme. If you are unsure whether your cover reflects how your business operates, contact Moyak Insurance Services on 01375 392087 or at info@moyakinsurance.co.uk. We work with businesses across Essex, Kent and London to help them assess cover against their needs and budget.