Protective Footwear

Golden_Anemone

My son works for one of the well known supermarkets in the warehouse at our local store. He has been there since last October, loves it and seems to be getting on well.

He recently though broke 2 toes when a pallet of goods he was taking off a delivery lorry slipped and landed on his foot. They let him do a few days on checkouts afterwards but because they're short of trained forklift operators he was back in the warehouse within a week wearing just trainers because he couldn't bear the pressure of his ordinary shoes on his broken toes.

He has been given uniform but while he says safety shoes are often "talked about" by managers nobody has given him these. I'm concerned about the potential for further injury unless he has them. They're very fussy about Hi-Vis waistcoats being worn in warehouse but not bothered at all about footwear. He's keen not to make a fuss but I feel this is very amiss of the store when he has already had an injury.

He should be entitled to these as PPE, shouldn't he? Could he buy a pair and ask the store to refund the cost?

DVardysShadow

Has the accident been recorded in the accident book? Make sure it is and then find the staff health and safety rep. If they will not pick it up and run with it, call the HSE. Broken toes and lack of safety shoes is not acceptable.

Golden_Anemone

Thanks DVardysShadow. He said the accident was entered in the book. I think he's afraid of rocking the boat, or it being thought that he is, as he isn't there a full year yet and knows they can just let him go if they want to. One manager said to him immediately afterwards that it was his own carelessness in handling the pallet which caused the accident. But this isn't about compensation, it's about preventing further / future injury. I'll see if he can find out who his H&S rep is and take it from there.

DVardysShadow

Golden_Anemone wrote: »

One manager said to him immediately afterwards that it was his own carelessness in handling the pallet which caused the accident.

Par for the course. it may be partially true that he has some responsibility for initiating his accident. But that does not exonerate the employer from providing equipment [safety shoes] to minimise the consequences, not does it exonerate them from the absolute duty to provide a safe system of work. And it does not excuse him from following a safe system of work and using safety equipment provided.

Even if he is partially at fault, he should follow through with this issue.

Googlewhacker

I'd also be questionning the training of the fork lift drivers if they were taking pallets of unsafely.....

Golden_Anemone

He wasn't using the forklift at this stage. It was more manual handling and he said it was normal procedure.

Like a lot of 19 year olds he tends to ramble a lot which makes it hard to follow the story.

viktory

Go and buy some. Yes, yes, yes, I know the company should supply them, but surely personal safety starts at home? Besides, the shoes the company might eventually supply are bound to be hideously uncomfortable and uglier than sin (companies inevitably opt for the cheapest). If he buys his own at least he can get a half way decent pair that look good and are comfortable. They are around £50 for a decent pair. My husband has about 4 pairs of safety shoes - some even look like trainers.

dickydonkin

Check section 9 of the Health & Safety at Work Act.

This section clearly indicates that no employee should have to pay for anything related to their health and safety - that includes personal protective equipment.

What a lot of people do not realise (and indeed many employers) is that Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) should only be considered an option where all other methods of controling hazards cannot be eliminated or reduced to an acceptable level.

For example, protective footwear will protect the users toes (with limitations) from something dropping off a pallet, however, the preferred option is to prevent the item dropping off the pallet in the first place.

This can only be achieved by undertaking a risk assessment where the hazards are evaluated and if other methods of control cannot be implemented, PPE is the last option.

PPE is not ideal as it has many flaws such as it requires the user to ensure it is worn, it may not be suitable for the types of hazards or it can be uncomfortable over a prolonged period of work.

As for the accident, the employer cannot squirm out of this one.

My husband has about 4 pairs of safety shoes - some even look like trainers.

This is a good option for the younger workers - and it is not unreasonable for the OP's son to ask the employer for these or at least be given a choice.

DVardysShadow

viktory wrote: »

Go and buy some. Yes, yes, yes, I know the company should supply them, but surely personal safety starts at home? Besides, the shoes the company might eventually supply are bound to be hideously uncomfortable and uglier than sin (companies inevitably opt for the cheapest). If he buys his own at least he can get a half way decent pair that look good and are comfortable. They are around £50 for a decent pair. My husband has about 4 pairs of safety shoes - some even look like trainers.

Absolutely not. A terrible idea.

Employers have a duty and the more they dilly dally and the more people go and buy their own the more it will become the norm that employers don't supply.

viktory

DVardysShadow wrote: »

Absolutely not. A terrible idea.

Employers have a duty and the more they dilly dally and the more people go and buy their own the more it will become the norm that employers don't supply.

*Sigh* Fair enough, suffer with broken toes or worse.

That'll teach those pesky employers.

I love that in today's society taking care of personal safety takes a backseat. Hey, you never know, you might be able to sue the employer for a few quid!!!

thorsoak

My sons have all at one time or another worked for the large supermarket chains whilst at college/uni, and in each case, they have been told that it is their responsibility to provide safety boots/shoes - although the company will supply uniform which could, theoretically be worn by another employee - boots/shoes are deemed to be individual. However Asda & Tesco will order them for an employee & deduct cost monthly if required. Employees can then claim a taxable allowance for uniform/safety shoes.