Accident at work - pay and liability

sams247

Hello all. My DD had an accident at work last week - she works in a bar and a gas cylinder fell on her foot, breaking it. She is training to be a dancer and so this is a very serious break for her. We are not clear on a couple of things, first it seems to me that the gas cylinder should not have been in a position to be able to just fall over but her boss says they 'always store them like that and have had no trouble before'. Second we are unsure what pay she can ask for. Her boss says she can just put in for SSP, but I feel as this accident is actually there fault could she be entitled to ask for more than SSP? She has also been told she should have been wearing 'proper' shoes, but this has never been mentioned before and no one else wears anything but trainers. Can they make it her fault? I feel she should claim on their insurance but she is afraid of losing her job and alienating her 'friends'. Any advice welcome. Thank you.

jazzyman01

She could contact a no win no fee lawyer specialising in accidents at work.

If the Company policy is to pay SSP only then that is all they are required to pay. They will have insurance against accidents.

maninthestreet

sams247 wrote: »

Hello all. My DD had an accident at work last week - she works in a bar and a gas cylinder fell on her foot, breaking it. She is training to be a dancer and so this is a very serious break for her. We are not clear on a couple of things, first it seems to me that the gas cylinder should not have been in a position to be able to just fall over but her boss says they 'always store them like that and have had no trouble before'. Second we are unsure what pay she can ask for. Her boss says she can just put in for SSP, but I feel as this accident is actually there fault could she be entitled to ask for more than SSP? She has also been told she should have been wearing 'proper' shoes, but this has never been mentioned before and no one else wears anything but trainers. Can they make it her fault? I feel she should claim on their insurance but she is afraid of losing her job and alienating her 'friends'. Any advice welcome. Thank you.

Seems like the employer may well have breached their legal duty of care - it may be worthwhile your daughter contacting the local HSE office for their opinion. It's the employer's responsiblity to ensure therir staff have the correct safety equipment and training, they can't pass this repsonsibility onto their staff.

http://www.hse.gov.uk/workers/employers.htm

JUNIOR

Did she put it in the accident book ?

Hse should have been notified( by the employer ) if she has had more than 3 days of work through an accident

If you have House insurance contact them for your free legal help , better than no win , no fee;)

Regarding loss of earnings claim it all back via PI claim

Is there any signs saying safety footwear must be worn , or in the contract of employment ?

sams247

There are no signs at all regarding safety, footwear or anything, and it isn't in her contract. They said they didn't have an accident book 'available' when we asked (we asked twice).

Thank you for your help.

geri1965_2

They are obliged by law to have an accident book, this needs pointing out to them.

There is no requirement to wear safety shoes in a bar!

JUNIOR

This needs to be entered into the companies accident book ASAP, if they do not have one then report this accident to your HSE/regarding the accident , this is reportable under RIDDOR try contacting your local council for advise aswell .

and contact legal advise .

terra_ferma

It looks like their H&S practices are very poor, and they might have been breaking the H&S at Work Act.
I'm not normally in favour of this mad compensation culture, but in this case the employer has failed to look after the safety of their employees and your daughter's future as a dancer has been put at risk. I would definitely get legal advice. Serves them right to pay compensation, and they will put the right systems in place.

ohreally

JUNIOR wrote: »

Hse should have been notified

Not for bar work, this is the jurisdiction of the local authority not the HSE.

Errata

JUNIOR wrote: »

This needs to be entered into the companies accident book ASAP, if they do not have one then report this accident to your HSE/regarding the accident , this is reportable under RIDDOR try contacting your local council for advise aswell .

and contact legal advise .

I agree, and would add that if the employer is proving difficult over the accident book then your DD would be wise to write to the employer giving details of the accident also pointing out that she has written the letter because the accident book is not being made available to her.
The 'compensation culture' is often decried, but in this case the DD would be within her rights to seek compensation, and all employers carry insurance to cover these eventualities.
It's important that a written record is kept of what happened, who witnessed it, what was said, diagnosed injuries etc which can be referred to as evidence for a claim.

terra_ferma

ohreally wrote: »

Not for bar work, this is the jurisdiction of the local authority not the HSE.

Serious incidents are reportable to the HSE under RIDDOR regulations, as Junior said. It's a legal duty that applies to all employers, and self-employed people not matter where they work.

http://www.hse.gov.uk/riddor/