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How we helped a parent company save thousands
The suggested fine range for a business with a turnover over £50 million in medium rather than severe circumstances is between £35,000 and £220,000.
Adequate pest control in restaurants and other food premises is a legal requirement.
Inspections are carried out by local authority Environmental Health Inspectors. They work within the guidelines laid down by the Food Standards Agency. If these standards are not met, food may be declared unsafe and could result in a business shutting down.
Access and download our free guide on pest infestations here.
The legal problem
Investigations can arise as a result of a random inspection or indeed as a result of a customer complaint. In this case, a customer raised a complaint over sighting a mouse within the premises.
A thorough examination of the premises was carried out by the Environmental Health Officer with a particular focus on the food preparation areas. No evidence of mice infestation was detected, however, an infestation of German Cockroaches was uncovered.
Cockroaches carry a wide range of diseases in their urine, droppings, and saliva and are often known to contaminate equipment, utensils and food contact surfaces. They have been linked to the spread of diseases such as salmonella, typhoid fever, cholera, plague and leprosy.
With this evidence found, the premises was immediately closed by virtue of a Hygiene Emergency Protection Notice due to there being an imminent risk to public health.
The legal value we added:
Subsequently, Westminster City Council prosecuted the restaurant company, and also brought proceedings against the larger parent company. The two businesses were prosecuted for a series of overlapping offences.
To minimise the impact of the prosecution on the parent company, we researched the details of operations and processes for both the restaurant and larger parent company.
Case outcome
Upon investigation, we discovered that the smaller restaurant company was running the whole operation. Making them responsible for the health and safety breaches.
We negotiated and persuaded Westminster City Council to only take legal action against the smaller company. This was a huge victory for the larger parent company as they were not prosecuted saving them thousands.
The suggested fine range for a business with a turnover over £50 million in medium rather than severe circumstances is between £35,000 and £220,000. This is what we had to avoid on behalf of the parent company.
This investigation was managed by partner and head of regulatory, Graeme Cushion and barrister Ian Thomas from Gough Square Chambers.
To see how our teams could help you, contact the London office on 0203 859 7760 or Nottingham on 0115 953 8500. For further information, read and download our free guide on pest infestations here.