A supermarket has been fined £12,000 after ignoring warnings and installing unsafe flooring in one of its new stores.

WM Morrison Supermarkets PLC was fined £12,000 at Leeds Magistrates Court after it pleaded guilty to a breach of health and safety rules at its new Rothwell store in south Leeds.

Before it was even built in February 2009, officials warned Morrison’s that it should not use terrazzo tiles in its food preparation areas, as they had previously been shown to be dangerous if food or liquid was spilt on them.

Due to the fact that food was being prepared in these areas, the likelihood of them become slippery on a regular basis was very high, putting employees at risk. Use of the same tiles in food preparation areas of other stores had been found to be a factor in previous slipping accidents.

Regulations insist that all reasonable steps are taken to ensure that the workplace is safe, so Leeds City Council took the view that Morrison’s had failed to ensure that surfaces in these areas were appropriate. The court hearing took place last month.

Councillors James Monaghan, Leeds City Council’s executive board member for health and safety, said:
“We hope this send out the message that the safety of employees is of vital importance to businesses and that employers must take their responsibilities seriously.
“It is important that businesses deal with avoidable risks at a early stage of any new store or refurbishment.”