John Bisset/Stuff
Despite multiple surgeries, a 17-year-old worker lost sight in his right eye after an incident at the workplace in Kaikōura. (File photo)
An employer in Kaikōura has been ordered to pay $22,500 after failing to provide adequate protection to a teenage worker who lost sight in one eye and failed to report the accident.
Daniel Anderson’s response to WorkSafe about whether he told employees to: use protective clothing was, “I’m not their mother and I’m going to dress them every morning.”
A 17-year-old who worked for Anderson, a sole proprietorship in agricultural fencing, was chiselling when a piece of metal flew into his right eye in March 2020. The teen lost sight in his eye despite multiple surgeries.
An investigation was launched several months later when the teen’s mother contacted WorkSafe after Anderson failed to do so – despite this being a requirement under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015.
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Anderson confirmed that he had not given full instructions on how to use personal protective equipment (PPE), such as goggles, because “it was common sense,” he said.
He also said his company was “too small” to pay for personal protective equipment, which he thought was too expensive.
WorkSafe’s national manager, Hayden Mander, said Anderson’s comments were outdated, unacceptable and arrogant. It was “amazing” that he did not understand the gravity of the situation, he said.
“A young man at the beginning of his working life now has severely impaired vision.”
Mander said health and safety costs were part of doing business and the employee should have been fitted with suitable PPE and obliged to wear it.
Employees who were vulnerable because of their age, inexperience or working conditions were less likely to question health and safety practices or voice their opinions if they weren’t sure, WorkSafe said.
“Except for the obvious health and safety gaps in this case, it is both illegal and morally wrong for an employer of any size not to notify WorkSafe of an incident like this,” Mander said.
“No employer is exempt.”
Anderson was convicted by the Kaikōura District Court on July 15. Judge Raoul Neave ordered him to pay $22,500 for emotional and consequential damages, as he was uninsured and unable to pay a fine.