Health & Safety what does he0. do??

kazz3105_2

While taking part in a 'compulsory voluntary' initiative with his local jobcentre he was sent to work in a national charity shop. He was given no health and safety advice and subsequently he seriously injured his back, after lifting heavy furniture over rails and customers. I know they have little money but for the manageress to say health and safety is just common sense and just lift stuff like you would at home is shocking. He has had his placement changed but he can hardly move he is walking round very slowly since doing this last Thursday. He has to walk 3 miles to his next placement as he does not get bus fare until he is there!! he really does not want to go onto ESA (he knows the trouble i and others have had) and i am considering writing to the charity to outline their manageress' cavalier attitude to health and safety at work. The reason I am asking here is because we need to know where he goes from here and we dont want to go down the line of making a claim for compensation, it is a charity after all and need every penny they can get their hands on. They do however, seriously need to look at the manageress Mrs i am bigger & better than you and give her some obviously much needed training.

hcb42

point them in direction of their obligations under relevant legislation, e.g. with regard to risk assessment etc.

or shop em.....:P

kazz3105_2

Might sound a stupid question but who does he point to? the company that sent him there, the jobcentre or the charity shop? Sorry if its obvious but brain not too good today.

hcb42

well as he was under placement, i would think they might be place to start, which makes it easier, they might be more inclined to listen...

kazz3105_2

When he questioned the health and safety after he had done his back in & after her its common sense talk he told her that he didnt think he could lift it she asked him to leave. He has been a carer for over 20 years and while daughters dla claim goes to appeal he has only been on jsa for about a month give or take.

lynzpower

Common sense "isnt all that common" - we all have completely different understandings of Common sense.

At the start of any new job ( paid or not) there should be an induction to the work place and a briefing on health and safety.

Has he had medical advice regarding his back? What have drs said about it?

The way its meant to go is:
If a voluntsary placement / employee has the requisite amount of time off with the injury ( under drs orders) I think its currently 5 days. then the employer needs to report the injury and incident via the RIDDOR processes to the Health and safety executive.

The HSE should then inform the local authority who will do an inspection, offer advice, or enforce if the case suits it.

dickydonkin

kazz3105 wrote: »

When he questioned the health and safety after he had done his back in & after her its common sense talk he told her that he didnt think he could lift it she asked him to leave. He has been a carer for over 20 years and while daughters dla claim goes to appeal he has only been on jsa for about a month give or take.

So it seems that he was aware that the task was beyond his physical capability - but still decided to do it.

That said - it still does not preclude the responsibilities of the charity to provide at least some basic manual handling awareness training.

It will be likely that the manageress was not in a position to provide training anyway.

Charity or not - they still have a duty of care to their staff and customers.

There are many struggling retail businesses out there - many big names as well - but they still have to absorb the cost of safety training - why should a charity be any different?

The OP suggested it was a national charity - so I suspect a few grand from the fund managers budget would not be a great hardship.

If a voluntsary placement / employee has the requisite amount of time off with the injury ( under drs orders) I think its currently 5 days. then the employer needs to report the injury and incident via the RIDDOR processes to the Health and safety executive.

An injury that results in someone losing 3 days of work requires the injury to be reported under RIDDOR. Irrespective of whether that person would have worked those days or not i.e. over a weekend - those days will still count as 'days off' - although the day of the injury doesn't. A doctor does not have to substantiate the injury.

Consultation is currently ongoing to increase the requirement for notifying under RIDDOR from over 3 days to over 7 days - this will bring it in line with the recently introduced 'fit note'.

Hammyman

Health and Safety At Work is a two way deal. You are as responsible for your own H&S at work as your employer is and H&S literature clearly states this.

I thought the rules on manual lifting were common knowledge but apparently not, especially as virtually every induction for every job and training scheme I've been on has stated them.

Mistral001

If you want compensation, do not beat around the bush. Put in a claim for it.

They are likely to fight it though. As you have said they national charity. thus they probably have the legal resourses to fight the case.

dickydonkin

Mistral001 wrote: »

If you want compensation, do not beat around the bush. Put in a claim for it.

They are likely to fight it though. As you have said they national charity. thus they probably have the legal resourses to fight the case.

It's a shame they didn't channel their resources towards safety training in the first place.

kazz3105_2

Well said. If they learn anything from this i.e. give proper H&S training he is not interested in compensation bear in mind that the majority of people working there are volunteers the least they can offer is H&S training.