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Prosecution Details

Defendant Graham Johnson
Trading Name Peronis in the Park
Section 19(1) and 19(6)
Offence Date On dates unknown between 18/12/2003 and 26/2/2004
Description of Breach(es)

Being an employer, failed, so far as was practicable, to provide and maintain a working environment in which its employees were not exposed to hazards; contrary to sections 19(1) and 19(6) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1984.

Background Details

The Defendant owned and operated a restaurant that traded as Peronis in the Park. On dates unknown between 18 December 2003 and 26 February 2004 the Defendant employed staff who worked in the restaurant's kitchen and were exposed to the risk of an injury caused by slipping on the kitchen floor.

On 7 August 2002, 12 May 2003 and 26 November 2003 the Complainant issued Improvement Notices to the Defendant on the ground that the floor in the kitchen presented a slipping and tripping hazard. The floor consisted of several different surfaces, the lino areas of the floor were lifting so that there were raised edges and the surface was generally slippery and uneven. The Defendant did not comply with any of the Improvement Notices.

Sometime in December 2004 the Defendant replaced the floor in the restaurant's kitchen with tiles which:
a. were not laid by a qualified tiler;
b. were not properly installed because the Defendant re-opened its kitchen and commenced to use it before the grouting in the tiles had set, and as a result the grouting was washed away when the kitchen floor was hosed down; and
c. were not suitable for use in a commercial kitchen because the surface of the tiles was slippery.

After installation of the tiles in December 2004 water began to ooze up from under the tiles and onto the floor. On 19 December 2003 the Complainant issued an Improvement Notice to the Defendant on the grounds that the floor in the kitchen presented a slipping hazard. The Improvement Notice required that by 9 January 2004 the Defendant take steps to reduce the risk of an employee slipping on the kitchen floor. The Defendant did not comply with the Improvement Notice or challenge its validity.

On 25 February 2004 the Inspector visited the restaurant and found that the condition of the kitchen floor had not improved.

The Defendant pleaded guilty.




Outcome Summary Convicted
Conviction Date 02 Sep 2005
Court Magistrates Court of WA - Perth Registry
Fine $2,500
Costs $1,000