gross misconduct and suspension advice please

dickydonkin

pictish wrote: »

the way stock comes into the stores is in giant metal cages, these are never marked with COSH stickers and are mixed cages, in that they can contain anything from the entire store. The packing of these cages is done in a very random manor damages are frequent and in the case of paint cages spillages are also common due to the contents being crushed. It is also pretty common to not be able to actually open the side doors on them due to damage or the items collapsing onto the doors which mean you have to reach in over the top to get boxes out.
In this case there was several boxes of superconcentrated weedkiller in liquid form where the tops had been knocked off and the contents had soaked through the entire cage.
1 box was found the first day and I noticed the second day that the floor was scarred where all the boxes had been placed overnight and on checking found another box with damaged bottles. This stuff is really nasty it actually damaged the concrete floor.

That is certainly a shoddy way of transporting such goods.

Potentially, there is a possibility of a relatively inocuous substance coming into contact with another product in the cages where such a mixture could liberate toxic fumes or inadvertantly create a more dangerous environment.

I also wonder if the damaged products you described are disposed of appropriately? - I suspect not.

skintdragon

dpassmore wrote: »

As regard to RIDDOR, your employer is required to report any accident/incident that results in an employee losing more than three days off work. There are many other stipulations - in particular relating to various types of injuries (irrespective of time lost), but I will attempt to apply the rules in respect of your situation prior to the disciplinary stuff.

It would seem your injury should have been reported under RIDDOR regultions and this should have been reported within ten days of the accident occurring.

But let's look back prior to your contact with the chemical that caused your injury.

Your employer should have informed you of the various hazards and risks within your workplace that you could be exposed to. This may have been through an induction process when you started and/or continuous training in your employment.

As for the chemical that caused the injury, your employer should have in place a risk assessment for the chemical involved. This is a requirement under the Management of Health & Safety at Work Regulations but more specifically, the Control of Substances Hazard to Health Regulations (COSHH).

There should also have been a safe system of work in place to deal with any spillages of chemicals that occur with (ideally) the provision of spillage kits to contain the substance and appropriate personal protective equipment as a supplementary safety measure to protect the person(s) dealing with the spill.

Furthermore, you should have been given specific information on the chemical involved and the preventative measures in place to avoid contact or injury.

I have a suspicion they may have been lacking in the above respects and it would seem they are attempting to sweep this under the carpet because the reality is that it is likely that the company have been negligent.

As for not investigating the cause of the accident and not allowing the accident to be documented, this is unacceptable behaviour and the HSE would certainly take a dim view of this situation.

You did not state the name of the company - nor should you - but there is one large DIY chain that has an unenviable record in respect of health & safety to customers and staff. This company has a Big Quota of stores throughout the UK.

If they are becoming arsy with you, you should remind them of their many duties to which they have failed miserably in respect of health & safety.

I suspect they are aware of this and it is possible you are being made a scapegoat for their management failings.

I would certainly see a solicitor for 1) Claiming for damages due to your injury likely caused by the company's negligence 2) To ensure you are not going to be dismissed unfairly.



The OP has indicated that the accident was caused at work and where is the logic in stating that because the OP had a reaction to medical treatment after a rash is an indication the injury was not work related?

He has also clearly indicated that he was NOT allowed to enter the injury in the accident book.

Agree with dpassmore re the lack of information regarding the chemicals you were handling (like MSDS and COSHH info), and lack of approproate PPE provision. It certainly sounds as though the company are trying to hide something (their failings in not adhering the HSE guidelines). I am also alarmed by what you (OP) said re not being allowed to fill in the accident book; that is utterly shambolic.

I wonder if alerting the HSE re this situation would be of any use?

dickydonkin

I wonder if alerting the HSE re this situation would be of any use?

Maybe not for the OP as the damage has been done, but they might give the employer a kick up the backside to ensure they get their house in order to prevent a repetition.

mayb_2

You really do need to bring this to someone's attention as it sounds as if there is no system whatsoever in place to ensure that any materials spilt can be easily identified and the right action taken - no good sending someone over with a mop and bucket no matter what they are dealing with. Very dangerous for staff and possibly members of the public too. As already highlighted by dpassmore, HSE should definately be informed and if I were you I would consider checking who the Chief Exec of the Company is and writing them a private and confidential, to be opened by addressee only, recorded delivery letter telling them the risk that the company is being placed under by the lack of proper H&S procedures in the work place. If you could take some photos of high risk areas even better.

pictish

With regards to HSE this company has had over 1million pounds in fines in the last five years to do with breaking HSE regs and deaths, I contacted HSE, not reporting the accident in the accident book is not breaking the law, just bad practice, they passed me through to the riddor team and they stated it was law for them to report it to them. I believe I have to contact my local environmental health who deal with shops to report the issues. For them to investigate you have to be named according to their site.

dickydonkin

pictish wrote: »

With regards to HSE this company has had over 1million pounds in fines in the last five years to do with breaking HSE regs and deaths, I contacted HSE, not reporting the accident in the accident book is not breaking the law, just bad practice, they passed me through to the riddor team and they stated it was law for them to report it to them. I believe I have to contact my local environmental health who deal with shops to report the issues. For them to investigate you have to be named according to their site.

You could write the letter to the relevant regulatory body which would have been indicated on the Health & Safety Poster located in the workplace.

They may indeed have a policy that suggests they would not react to anonymous tip offs, but you could state you are a "concerned employee" regarding the company's current working practices (or seemingly lack of them), and are genuinely concerned about you and your colleagues safety and welfare and they should respect that scenario as it could lead to retribution from an employer - directly or indirectly.

Furthermore, if as you suggested this company has a poor safety record, they will likely be on the radar of your local authority and I would suggest they would find any concerns from an employee (anonymous or otherwise) difficult to ignore.

From experience, the HSE will respond to concerns from worried employees and I suspect the local authority will do the same under the circumstances.

This company seems do totally disregard the safety and welfare of their staff either out of ignorance, arrogance or a combination of both - however, with the new corporate manslaughter legislation and the recently introduced 'Health and Safety Offences Act 2008', it might also be worth writingto the director of the company explaining your situation and making him realise that he and his fellow directors could potentially be behind bars should any further serious breach occurs.

I always believe the largest cost to health & safety failings is human suffering.

mayb_2

If you check out the criteria for whistleblowing to be considered as a protected disclosure, I think you will find that something related to health and safety is fully covered. You are not supposed to suffer a detriment for blowing the whistle at work and after raising the issue with the management any attempt to dismiss you would be a cause for a claim of unfair dismissal follwoing making a protected disclosure. I would suggest you contact the charity Public Concern at Work http://www.pcaw.co.uk/. They are extremely knowledgeable and helpful and they will try to help you resolve the problem at work without losing your job. Unfortunately I didn't come accross them until I had already lost mine.

I would warn you that although the Tribunal Judge found that I had indeed made a protected disclosure, he then found that I had actually lost my job through a breakdown in Trust and Confidence - this does not require proof. The Union who was supposed to be representing and supporting me, said they were seeing this more and more in Tribunals and Judges were accepting it. This was the GMB - so a large Union with, one would presume, powers to challenge such things at a high level.

There were many things throughout the month's before my suspension, my suspension for over 10 months, my grievance and disciplinary, the dismisal and appeal and the general way I was treated by my employers - a local council - that were totally at odds with employment law and ACAS guidelines and natural justice. This was all ignored by the Tribunal and although the GMB made one attempt to address this it was totally ineffectual. However, I have seen a Tribunal carried out in a much fairer and balanced way and the end result was no better in terms of the employability of the person bringing the case.

I am just speaking as I found, in order to warn possible claimants of the imbalance of power when dealing with people with unlimited funds to fight you and influence others. Contact the charity and take their advice - they will do their utmost to support you and advise you. Contact the powers that be regarding the H&S issues though, you may find that you can give them your name and ask them not to inform your employer who made the contact. If you are worried about this you may find the Charity can advise you on how best to go about things. Not only are you at risk at work but so are your colleagues and the public using the store - in all honesty you do have something of a duty to report this as you would not want anyone else to suffer the health issues that you have suffered and your employers need to address your health issues too.