H&S and Welfare at work

16009288

Hello,

The place where I work currently has no running water or electricity in any off the rest areas.
They had a fire which destroyed the electricity and water supply to those areas.
The management have said that we are to continue working and that we should use 'borrowed' facilities from a neighbouring company.
In my actual place of work there is no running/warm water to wash, no toiler facilities, very poor lighting, no emergency lighting, no functioning fire hoses (although they do have a function auto system but that only covers certain areas), very little fire extinguishers - they have all but been used recently and not replaced.

Yesterday I was asked to clean out an area that was very near to the scene of the fire, no lighting and big holes in the floor - I had to hold a torch in one hand a shovel in the other!
This moring at 6:30am I turned up for work and the situation is exactly the same - dimmly lit work area, no suitable wash facilites, just a few bottles of water provided.

I rang my manager to express my concerns and was told to get on with it with a comment of 'what's up with you, your always complaining'

I said that the situations was not good enough and that I wasn't prepared to work in such conditions.

I've since received a text saying basically I'll be sacked if I don't go back in.


It's the waste recyling industry, very very dirty, lots of large machinery and vehicles, lots of air bourne particals.

nicechap

And your question is? Perhaps a head torch might be better?

Your manager is more or less correct. If you don't like the working conditions you are free to find alternative work. If you refuse to work you can be sacked. Though an employer has a responsibility to ensure a safe working environment as you work in waste industry the expectations could be different to a call centre.

How unionised is your place of work? Is everyone prepared to take collective action? Would you rather be sent home unpaid until the work place was perfect?

16009288

Thanks for your reply nicechap, yes I consider the working environment unsafe in it's current state.
The manager has said that they are going to portacabins, etc.. soon but that does alter the fact that they expect me to work in the current conditions. Alas there are employees that will basically do anything and have scant regard for H&S regulations.

I'm not expecting an utopia place of work but I do expect the basic facilities to be at hand and to feel safe whilst at work.

There has been an ongoing problems with the management in regards to H&S - expecting employees to climb over gantry safety handrails to climb onto large machinery that hasn't been locked off correctly, being asked to stand in a bucket of a large shovel loader and being lifted into the air to access certain things, the list goes on.
Yesterday, being forced to work in these current condition was the final straw and being greeted to the same conditions prompted my refusal to comply, not being paid for the pails into insignificance with the overall situation.
So question is... what are my rights basically?

nicechap

You have the right to leave and find a safer working environment.

You have the right to take part in Union sanctioned collective action.

You have the right to sue your employer if you are injured as a result of working in an unsafe environment where the employer was negligent offset by any negligence by yourself.

You have the right to ask for a H&S assessment. If you don't have a H&S rep, you have the right to ask colleague to vote for you to be their rep, undertake relevant training and represent them & yourself.

tacpot12

You can also report the employer to the Health & Safety Executive. See http://www.hse.gov.uk/contact/concerns.htm

Your concerns seem to fall into three categories:

- Items that are just not acceptable under any circumstances - climbing over gantry safety handrails to climb onto large machinery that hasn't been locked off correctly, standing in the bucket of a large shovel loader as means of working at height.
- Items that are unsuitable but acceptable as a result of the fire - having to visit an adjacent company to use the toilet, as the employer has clearly made an effort to provide the facility. Bottled water to drink. The employer should be allowing you extra time to make hot drinks or go to the toilet if you have to leave their site to do so.
- Items that can be made acceptable by safe working behaviours by the staff members - e.g. using a head torch in areas of low light. The employer should proivde the torch, but if the choice is between losing your job and paying £10 for a Engergiser Head Torch, I know what I would do.

You can and should refuse to do anything that falls into the first category. You should aim to work with your employer on the second and third categories.

jonnygee2

Reporting to the HSE executive is the best idea here. These practices are, by any standards, unsafe.

Realistically, you can expect negative consequences from your manager for doing so (even if its anonymous, they are going to know it was you). But, you are working in a place with insufficient fire fighting equipment which has recently suffered a major fire, so in this case I would guage it as worth the risk.

tacpot12

jonnygee2 wrote: »

Reporting to the HSE executive is the best idea here. These practices are, by any standards, unsafe.

Realistically, you can expect negative consequences from your manager for doing so (even if its anonymous, they are going to know it was you). But, you are working in a place with insufficient fire fighting equipment which has recently suffered a major fire, so in this case I would guage it as worth the risk.

I would agree with jonnygee2.

ohreally

There are duties placed on them to provide a safe place/ system of work. Additionally they are required to conduct risk assessments. There are lighting levels to be met as well.

If you feel your in imminent danger there is provision for you to deal with this.

dickydonkin

nicechap wrote: »

You have the right to leave and find a safer working environment.

The onus is on the employer to provide a safe working environment.

You have the right to take part in Union sanctioned collective action.

That is assuming a union exists in the workplace.

You have the right to sue your employer if you are injured as a result of working in an unsafe environment where the employer was negligent offset by any negligence by yourself.

Personally, I would prefer not getting injured or killed in the first place! If you are killed, or injured so badly that you cannot work again, then compensation is scant consolation.

You have the right to ask for a H&S assessment. If you don't have a H&S rep, you have the right to ask colleague to vote for you to be their rep, undertake relevant training and represent them & yourself.

H&S legislation requires the employer to undertake a risk assessment and ensure findings are acted upon and communicate any safety issues to their staff and others.

I fully accept that employees also have a duty of care to themselves and others, but why are you continuously suggesting that the OP is at fault for his employers apparent safety shortcomings?

Many people will work and accept dangerous workplaces because they are too scared to speak out due to their very nature or simply scared of losing their job - unfortunately, many employers will assume silence as consent - until the inevitable happens and they will blame everyone but themselves when the threat of a criminal record looms.

The reality is that the OP is working in an industry that accounts for a very high occurrence of accidents and fatalities due to the nature of waste/recycling operations.

The OP certainly has the option of leaving - but then someone else who will fill the void will then also be placed at risk of harm.

It seems the employer has total disregard for their staff and the only people that can change such a mindset are the enforcing bodies who can ensure they either change their ways or simply close them down!

I would suggest a call or letter to the enforcing body will instigate a visit due to the high risk operations of the industry in which the OP works.