Reserved judgment — workplace injury — Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, ss 2(c), 3, 36(1)(a), 48(1) — WorkSafe New Zealand v Budget Plastics (New Zealand) Ltd [2017] NZDC 17395 — R v Taueki [2005] 3 NZLR 372 — Worksafe New Zealand v Rangiora Carpets Ltd [2017] NZDC 22587. The defendant pleaded guilty to one charge under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 (HSWA). The charge was that being a Person Conducting a Business or Undertaking, the defendant failed to ensure so far as reasonably practicable the health and safety of its workers. The defendant, as part of its operation, carried out hot-dip galvanising with molten zinc. There was an obvious risk of workers being splashed with zinc, so workers wore protective clothing to guard from injury. An issue arose with the machine used to dip items into a bath holding molten zinc and the machine was shut down. The victim climbed up onto the machine to fix a jammed wheel. His foot slipped and went through a gap and into the molten zinc; the molten zinc got into the victim's safety boot causing significant burns to his foot and ankle. The prosecution asserted and the defence accepted four health and safety improvements that were reasonably practicable to have been implemented prior to the accident. The Judge followed the three-step approach to sentencing based on R v Taueki: (i) assessing the amount of reparation; (ii) fixing the amount of the fine; (iii) making an overall assessment of the proportionality and appropriateness of the total imposition of reparation and the fines. On reparations, the prosecution and defendant agreed that emotional harm reparations of $30,000 were appropriate. The defendant had already made an ACC "top-up" to meet the shortfall in wages. On the fine, WorkSafe submitted a starting point of $600,000 while the defence argued for between $450,000 and $500,000. The Judge considered the culpability bands discussed in Worksafe New Zealand v Rangiora Carpets Ltd, concluding that $600,000 was an appropriate starting point in light of the defendants failure to guard against the risks of workers being burned by molten zinc. The judge noted the importance of guarding against risks by such means as training, supervision, monitoring and discipline where risk is unable to be guarded against by mechanical means . The Judge applied a 10 percent uplift for the defendant's previous convictions, and reductions of 25 percent for both the payment of reparations, remorse and remedial action taken, and for the early guilty plea, bringing the final fine to $371,250. The Judge also ordered, under HSWA, s 152(a) , that the defendants pay WorkSafe's costs of $1584.50, being 50 percent of WorkSafe's recorded legal costs. Judgment Date: 21 March 2018.