Neil Curry HSE Consultant

26/05/2026

On April 1, 2001, a strange and funny incident happened at a Ho***rs restaurant in Panama City Beach, Florida. The restaurant held a contest for its waitresses. They were told that whoever sold the most beer in one month would win a brand-new Toyota car. All the workers were excited and worked very hard to win the prize.

One of the waitresses, Jodee Berry, tried her best and sold the most beer that month. She believed she had won the promised Toyota car. But what happened next surprised her. Instead of a real car, she was blindfolded and taken to the parking lot. There, she was shown a “toy Yoda” — a small green Star Wars character toy instead of a Toyota vehicle.

Jodee felt shocked and disappointed because she believed the offer was real. She decided not to accept it as a joke and left the job. Later, she filed a lawsuit against the company, saying that she was misled and promised something different.

The restaurant owners said it was only a joke and not a serious contract. The case became widely known because of the unusual misunderstanding.

In May 2002, the case was settled outside the court. Jodee Berry received a resolution that allowed her to choose a real Toyota car from a dealership. The situation became a famous example of why clear communication in promises and rewards is very important in the workplace.

08/05/2026

23/11/2024

09/09/2022

Well what a sad situation. 🥺

My old boss, HM Queen Elizabeth II has passed. I pledged my allegiance to Her Majesty and her family not too long after leaving school and that pledge stands to this day and to the new king.

RIP Ma’am.

Long live the king!

23/11/2021

Had a client have a safety critical work application refused, something we have worked on for 6 months. Over the past couple of weeks I have put in a 22 hour day and missed out on seeing loved ones.

This is not dead in the water though.

We have only been refused on two minor issues, both of which were out of my control. I have thought about the issues which the client is confused about and I have returned numerous alternative resolutions back for the client's future ideals.

I am very hopeful the advice will push them through the final edge and get what is needed.

12/10/2021

Fly tipping, what’s the cost and does it affect us? I have just been to give advice to a local cricket club who found a box containing asbestos insulation board fly tipped in their car park. The costs for testing and removal will be passed onto the local community from Council Tax. The cost to the person who have had this material removed from their property is probably a house grossly contaminated with loose asbestos fibre and debris and possibly an extra cost of their health or their lives. The law requires that property needs to be subject to asbestos survey and correct removal procedure with a proven route of disposal.

DO NOT CHANCE IT. The consequences are certainly not worth it.

18/08/2021

Would have cost a three figure sum to sort out.

Landlord receives £50,000 fine for fire safety breaches in converted house
A landlord has been handed a suspended prison sentence and a fine of £50,000 for fire safety breaches.

Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service attended a fire at 1057 London Road, Derby on the night of 23 November 2019. According to local newspaper reports at the time, the police and fire service officers remained at the scene of the fire all night investigating the blaze.

Responding to the fire, which started in a flat on the top floor of the converted building, firefighters discovered some fire doors had no self-closers or smoke seals, the kitchen door did not close due to a lack of maintenance and the fire alarm was not working. There was no evidence of a fire risk assessment and fire extinguishers were out of test date.

In addition, they also found that the landlord had failed to provide tenants with any means of escape and the emergency lighting was not in working order.

Thirunavukkaradu Kulandaisamy, the owner and landlord of the flats at London Road, appeared at Derby Crown Court on 5 July to be sentenced for several breaches of fire safety regulations to which he pleaded guilty at Derby Magistrates Court on the 7 June 2021.

He was sentenced to nine months of imprisonment suspended for two years, fined a total of £50,000.00, ordered to pay court costs of £22,861.00 and an additional £156 as a victim surcharge for breaches of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.

02/12/2020

Had a local company contact me today, They have had an employee phone in sick with Covid. HSE have been immediately involved (not seen this before) but they should expect an improvement notice and costs.

The company have no Pandemic safety system in place or Covid safety controls. Neil Curry HSE Consultant's were quick on the ball with this, don't fall foul of the law; contact us immediately if you require a Covid safety system or home worker's self assessment (home worker assessments are still free of charge). The alternative is really not worth it.

22/11/2020

I have tried and tried to get the message across that ALL construction projects in properties built prior to 2000 need an up to date and correct type of asbestos survey. This company could have saved a lot of money and avoided criminal prosecution for doing the right thing.

A company has been fined for failing to complete the correct asbestos survey at a domestic construction project.

Salisbury Magistrates’ Court heard how, on 18 October 2017, there was a gas explosion at a flat at Market Place, Chippenham where construction work had been carried out to develop the property into flats.

Following the gas explosion, an HSE investigation found Prestige EA Ltd failed to plan, manage and monitor construction work to prevent persons from being exposed to risks associated with asbestos. Prestige EA Ltd was contracted to advise and manage the development of the property into four flats above a retail unit. The wrong type of asbestos survey was carried out before the work so the work completed was not in compliance with the law.

06/10/2020

Must be doing something right! 😁. Cheers guys!!