House of Commons Cleaner Wins Thousands in Injury Payout

A cleaner has been awarded £10,000 in compensation after slipping over in a puddle of fatty liquid in the kitchen of the House of Commons.

Kiplin Gayle injured his back and elbow after slipping on the liquid which was dripping out of several leaky ovens in the House of Commons' Terrace Cafeteria. The incident occurred on April 27 last year.

Judge Shanti Mauger ruled catering managers failed to address the 'emission of filthy, slippery fluid, onto the tiled floor' from leaky oven doors, despite it having been a problem since at least 2012.

She ordered the Corporate Officer of the House of Commons to pay out £10,000 in costs and damages to the injured cleaner.

Victoria Webb, for the Corporate Officer of the House of Commons, argued that kitchen cleaners could not expect the kitchens to be clean when they arrived as it was their job to clean them.

Judge Mauger said:

"I entirely agree that a cleaner's job is to clean and they cannot expect to come into a clean kitchen. But they can expect that machinery in the kitchen will be maintained so as not to regularly cause a hazard."

If you have suffered an accident at work and believe the negligence of another was to blame, you may be entitled to compensation. Call our London claims team on 0203 206 1133.

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