Accident at work

notsolucky_2

This is what the letter highlights,
Your total disregard for Health and Safety regulations which led to an accident that could have had very serious repercusions for both you as an individual and us as a company"
For something he has done every day for a long time,by the way does this make any difference the ladder didnt fall but he did with losing his balance?The letter said if he wanted to be accompined at the hearing he was to give them 2 days notice.

LittleVoice

If he lost his balance, would it have made any difference whether he was on a ladder or using the equipment they are now saying he should have been using? That is, as far as the physical outcome for him is concerned, would he have still suffered the same injuri)es?

If "the ladder didnt fall", do you mean it was still upright after his fall? (Unlikely I would have thought.) Though you could argue that he fell, causing the ladder to fall, would he actually have lost his balance if using the other equipment?

Conor_3

It's not looking good is it, especially if the ladder didn't fall?

So far you've got him not using equipment supplied because he couldn't be bothered with the aggro, thus not complying with his responsibility under H&S, and now it looks like he lost his balance but the ladder was secure enough to stay where it was?

Still, I suppose with the current culture of blaiming everybody else for someones stupidity, you'll probably get awarded £10,000's

jobbingmusician

If the ladder didnt fall, why did he actually fall?

What in the H & S regulations did he disobey which would have prevented him falling (if, for example, he had a sudden dizzy spell)?

notsolucky_2

But the thing is we dont want to claim anything! all he was doing was what he does every day and has done all his life going to work to earn a wage,personally i think what they expect him to do on other sites with the ladders he has is dangerous and this has proved it I also think there is part blame on both sides but I dont think he should get all the blame.He just says he lost his balance which can happen to anyone.

jobbingmusician

The 2 questions I posted are still the 2 issues you have to concentrate on to prevent him being fired. If he had a sudden dizzy spell, the employer has to demonstrate that they had H & S policies in place, and had provided training on this, which would have prevented him falling had he followed the policy. The employer should also demonstrate that it was normal practice to follow the policy!

notsolucky_2

Sorry to sound thick but would a dizzy spell be better than losing your balance?

withabix

They provided a ladder for him to work from, therefore by law the employer MUST have a written risk assessment in place for carrying out that activity from a ladder.

As a general rule, to use a ladder as a working platform AT ALL, there should be three points of contact between the user and the ladder at all times - ie two feet and one hand, so you can only carry out work from a ladder that requires no more than ONE HAND at any time, unless a fall arrest system is in place.

globalds

This is why a ladder is not permited to work from ...It can only be used to get you to your place of work.The company saying he used the wrong ladder stands for nothing .He should have been on a tower /mewp or some kind of custom built platform that had been certified as a work platform .
The task should have been risk assesed by the company and a method statement should be available for the guy doing the job to follow as a guideline .
The dizzy spell may have been good if used at the begining ,but it is not the truth and changing your story half way through is not a good idea .
I would follow there procedures .Refuse any kind of punishment and if they pressed for it then leave claiming constructive dismissal.

notsolucky_2

OK thanks for that it makes sense.He did need to use two hands,what does constructive dismissal mean?