Key takeaway
What This Development Means
Gill Aggregates Limited was fined £24,000 after a worker was fatally crushed in a conveyor with an accessible guarding opening. The prosecution applies existing PUWER duties and does not create a new machinery-safety rule.
Did The Gill Aggregates Case Create A New Conveyor-Guarding Rule?
No. The prosecution applied existing Regulation 11(1) of PUWER. Employers already had to prevent access to dangerous machinery parts or stop movement before entry into a danger zone. The new development is the completed prosecution and HSE's account of the control failure.
What Should A Conveyor Guarding Review Cover?
Employers should inspect openings, reach distances, under-guard access and interfaces with feed or discharge equipment. They should also test isolation, emergency stops and restart controls during operation, cleaning, fault clearing and maintenance. The review must confirm that physical controls prevent access to moving parts.
Source basis: Health and Safety Executive, Gill Aggregates conveyor prosecution (29 September 2026)
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has secured a conviction against Gill Aggregates Limited after a worker was fatally crushed in a bag-flattening conveyor at the company's East London Aggregate Depot in Dagenham. The company was sentenced at Snaresbrook Crown Court on 28 September 2026.
HSE Conveyor Guarding Prosecution Follows A Fatal Crush Incident
Production operative Manjit Kumar was operating the conveyor on 24 June 2020 when he was drawn through an opening in the fixed guarding into moving compression conveyors. Colleagues stopped the machine and dismantled the guard to recover him, but he died in hospital several days later from his injuries.
HSE found that the guard contained an opening approximately 600 millimetres wide by 335 millimetres high, allowing access to dangerous moving parts. Additional guarding was installed after the incident.
Gill Aggregates pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 11(1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER). The court imposed a £24,000 fine and ordered the company to pay a £43,000 contribution towards prosecution costs.
PUWER Guarding Duties Remain Unchanged
This HSE conveyor guarding prosecution is an enforcement outcome, not a new legal requirement. Regulation 11(1) already requires employers to take effective measures to prevent access to dangerous machinery parts or stop their movement before a person enters a danger zone.
The hierarchy matters. Fixed enclosing guards should be used where practicable. Where they are not, other guards or protection devices should be considered before information, instruction, training or supervision is relied upon. HSE says machinery hazards should be identified through risk assessment and matched with measures that reduce the risk.
No numerical exposure threshold, exemption or transition applies. The relevant question is whether access to the dangerous part is effectively prevented throughout foreseeable operation, cleaning, fault clearing and maintenance.
What Machinery Operators Should Review
Manufacturers and other employers using conveyors should inspect each guard from the worker's position, including openings, reach distances, under-guard access and interfaces with feed or discharge equipment. Maintenance and production teams should test isolation, emergency-stop and restart controls under realistic conditions.
Machinery suppliers and integrators should record how guarding satisfies the intended use, while purchasers must verify the installed line rather than relying only on a component declaration. Employers remain responsible for safe use of work equipment at their sites.
Foresight's coverage of an unguarded laminator prosecution shows the same Regulation 11(1) duty across a different manufacturing process. Sites should conduct and record a physical machinery guarding review for conveyors and roller systems, prioritising openings large enough to permit reach or whole-body access.
Summary
The £24,000 fine and £43,000 costs contribution apply existing PUWER guarding duties after a fatal conveyor crush. Employers should verify that physical safeguards prevent access to moving parts during every foreseeable task, and that isolation and restart controls work in practice.
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