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#1 Posted : 17 May 2001 12:11:00(UTC)
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Posted By Shaun Churchill Can anyone advise me as to the legal position for Sikhs (or others who may wear head gear as part of their religous beliefs)regarding the wearing of Hard Hats on construction sites. My professional opinion tells me they should wear Hard Hats on construction sites, however I am very much aware this potentially is a racial/cultural discrimination issue too. The Motor Cyles (Protective Helmets) Regulations 1980 aslo spring to mind when considering this issue, and whether there are any similar exclusions for the wearing of other protective equipment.
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#2 Posted : 17 May 2001 13:40:00(UTC)
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Posted By Jim Walker Shaun, You want INDG262 which specifically discusses this subject. single copies available fron HSE books. Sounds like you need a copy of HSE books catalogue as well - again this is FOC.
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#3 Posted : 18 May 2001 11:00:00(UTC)
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Posted By Francis Quinn Just to let you know whilst you are waiting for the HSE booklet, the most recent law, which reimposes the duty for Sikhs on building sites to wear hard hats, is: the Construction (Head Protection) Regulations 1989.
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#4 Posted : 18 May 2001 14:25:00(UTC)
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Posted By Zyggy Turek Sorry to disagree with the last response, but according to the Construction (Head Protection) Regs. 1989, "A Sikh who is wearing a turban is exempt from any requirement to wear head protection on a construction site (Sections 11 and 12 of the Employment Act 1989)" - Reference - Guidance to the Construction (HP) Regs. 1989.
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#5 Posted : 18 May 2001 14:47:00(UTC)
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Posted By Francis Quinn Please don't apologise- I'm sure that you are right. My "excuse" is that looking up the name of the Reg in a previously trusted journal,(2000 edition) I was somewhat surprised to read... Oh well it goes to show that one should not trust text books... A lesson learnt.
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#6 Posted : 18 May 2001 15:15:00(UTC)
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Posted By Jay Joshi The HSE guidance from "Head protection for Sikhs wearing turbans : guidance for employers" from IND(G)262 is categorical i.e. For Construction sites The Construction (Head Protection) Regulations 1989 require employers to provide suitable head protection for each employee (except turban-wearing Sikhs) involved in {Construction work means the carrying out of any building, civil engineering or engineering construction work and is defined in the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 1994 and the Construction (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1996.} construction work unless there is no foreseeable risk of injury to the head other than by falling. The employer also has a duty to ensure that those issued with head protection wear it. Sikhs wearing turbans are exempt from the requirement to wear head protection on a construction site by virtue of the Employment Act 1989. Therefore, Sikh construction workers wearing turbans should not be required to wear 'hard hats'. Sikhs who are not wearing a turban are NOT exempt from the regulations. They are required to wear 'hard hats' on a construction site in the same circumstances that other workers would be required to wear head protection. If a turban-wearing Sikh is injured on a construction site, his employer is only liable to pay compensation for any injuries which, even if the Sikh worker had been wearing a safety helmet, he would have sustained (Section 11, Employment Act 1989).
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#7 Posted : 21 May 2001 11:07:00(UTC)
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Posted By John Webster Have a look at old forum archive for a thread "....and now for a "curly" one" posted by K.C. Down Under on Monday, 28 August 2000. John PS Not heard from KC for a while - are you still out there KC?
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#8 Posted : 22 May 2001 06:18:00(UTC)
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Posted By Uday My personal opinion ( with due respects ) to all those who responded in this forum is that there should NOT be TWO sets of rules. * Either you exempt ALL from wearing Hard Hats or make it compulsory for all. * Should this NOT be possible then the victim should NOT be compensated against any head injury caused for that Head injury accident. Having said this...Sikh wearing turbans Do wear Hard hats in the other parts of the world and when these sikhs CAN why not others.....?
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#9 Posted : 22 May 2001 11:33:00(UTC)
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Posted By Philip McAleenan Shaun, The duty of an employer is to prevent injuries to employees. PPE is a last resort, not a first. Is it possible for there to be other ways to manage the operation so that all employees can be safeguarded against head injury? Uday's last point was interesting and the following web-site may prove useful to an understanding of some of the issues, http://www.singhsabha.com/sikh_turban.htm regards, Philip
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