Accident at work

jobbingmusician

I mentioned a dizzy spell as that is (one of) the worst thing(s) that could happen up a ladder and so should be the sort of thing which the company's safety procedures protects you against.

Constructive dismissal is where the employer makes the job impossible and destroys the trust between the employer and employee, or treats the employee so unfairly that really they have no choice but to resign. There is more about this, written in non-legal, sensible English, here. http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/Employees/RedundancyAndLeavingYourJob/DG_10026696

Savvy_Sue

Or he could accept a formal written or verbal warning if that's on offer, and when he gets back to work refuse to work from a ladder. It may be unfair, but less stressful than going for constructive dismissal. What's his colleague doing now the company are telling him not to work from a ladder?

It sounds to me as if the company has had very weak H&S policy implementation up until now, and the accident has put the frighteners on them. After all it COULD have been very serious.

notsolucky_2

His colleague is still not working from a ladder any work that needs doing from a height is being taken off him and sent to the work shop.Spoke to his boss today and he advised him to write down any thing that he wants to mention in the hearing and justify basically why he did what he did.OH asked for any documentation which relates to ladders(that he might have sighed) and was told that they couldnt find any?But he said any H&S policies would have been on the notice board to read,and it is your responsibility to read it.

Luvly.cuppa.T

This is true about the notice board at work, I'm afraid, although everything on there should have a date on it, to prove when the info went up. If the notice board is in a place that he doesn't frequent, or is hidden and he has not been made aware of it then he has a right to mention this and hopefully that should go in his favour.

We had a notice board in the pub I worked at that was in the cellar, where all the wet stock was. This was ridiculous as kitchen staff had no right to be in there, and not all staff would have had access to it, for instance under 18's that we employed who only worked in the restaurant.... In fact most staff who went in there, had either been there for a while, or where in higher positions, as it was a responsibility to stock up all the alcohol due to the possibilty of theft!
Eventually it was put in the kitchen, but even then it wasn't well seen.....

Savvy_Sue

OK, so it's his responsibility to read what's on the noticeboard, but if the company are going to rely on "it was on the board, you should have read it" then personally I would think that he has a right to be sent a copy of whatever it is he's supposed to have read!

Or am I applying too much common sense here?

Luvly.cuppa.T

No Sue, I think that you are right to point that out, and it can get overlooked.

As things were not done properly in my workplace, I can only hanker that if some important info was to be put up that it should be made aware to all employees, but that's the purpose of the notice board itself. (we usually had staff meetings to cover any new things happening, or being implemented)
I guess it depends on the size of the staff and how they normally implement new things. Not sure about 'older' things, and yes if it's on health and safety, then I would imagine all need a personal copy to read through and keep.
The ones on the notice board would be there for information and reminder, rather than yelling out 'new' items.

onamission_2

just a final comment - its end of long day so my vocabulary not up to much today.
if your DH has had training on the equipment & procedures for doing a job and has followed them then the company is at fault. if he deviated from a written procedure fault lies with him. accepted practise is not viewed in good light when it comes to accidents. the company can give him a warning. if it continues he could be dismissed.

withabix

onamission wrote: »

accepted practise is not viewed in good light when it comes to accidents.

Accepted practice is the fault of the EMPLOYER not the employee, as it is the employer's responsibility to ensure that safe systems of work are followed and to provide ALL equipment and training necessary for employees to carry out their tasks safely.

If the employer continues to blame the OP's other half, I would report them to the HSE.

To the OP: has your ohter half seen a copy of the F2508 form? If this doesn't exist, the employer is breaking the law and should be reported to the HSE without a second thought!!!

ben500

We put something up on the notice board is not much defence either, ask your oh to check with his colleagues if any new notices have appeared since the incident this will give you an indication of what they most likely haven't done in past and are trying to rectify this now.

LittleVoice

Luvly.cuppa.T wrote: »

This is true about the notice board at work, I'm afraid, although everything on there should have a date on it, to prove [my emphasis - LV] when the info went up. ....

It has been known for H&S policy and procedure notices to be back dated!