Mill House Metals was fined £1,000 and ordered to pay £2,000 in costs after pleading guilty to breaching the Employers’ Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969. The case was heard at Liverpool Magistrates’ Court on 15 April 2026.
The prosecution was brought by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), following an investigation into the company’s operations at its Hale Road site.
The court heard that, by law, employers must have insurance in place to cover potential liability for injury or disease suffered by employees as a result of their work.
However, HSE inspectors found that Mill House Metals had no valid Employers’ Liability Compulsory Insurance (ELCI) certificate in place between 18 April 2025 and 30 September 2025.
As a result, workers employed during that period would have had no means of pursuing a civil claim against the company had they been injured or developed a work-related illness.
Mill House Metals operates as a scrap metal and recycling business, offering services including scrap metal recycling, skip hire, domestic metal waste collection, abandoned vehicle pick-up, and handling of ferrous and non-ferrous metals.
Speaking after the hearing, HSE principal inspector Emily Osborne explained: “Had Mill House Metal’s employees suffered a work-related injury or illness that warranted a claim for damages, they would have been denied a chance to claim the compensation as recompense for any pain and suffering they had endured.
“That is the purpose of ELCI. It is not a trivial optional extra, it is a compulsory requirement that is designed solely to protect employees.
“The law expects employers to take all reasonably practicable steps to prevent their workforce from being injured or becoming ill, but if incidents do occur then Employers’ Liability Compulsory Insurance cover is vital.”
The case was prosecuted by HSE enforcement lawyer Gemma Zakrzewski.
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