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#1 Posted : 05 June 2003 09:38:00(UTC)
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Posted By Neal Robertson Three employees have presented me with doctors letters advising them not to wear safety footwear (all for different reasons) The risk assessment shows that safety footwear should be worn as a last line of defence - there is a not insignificant chance that somebody could drop a heavy weight on their foot I`ve taken advice from several sources, but would be interested to hear your comments, experiences before taking definite action. Any help appreciated.
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#2 Posted : 05 June 2003 10:27:00(UTC)
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Posted By Steve Appleton Hi Neal, A risk assessment has been carried out and as a result, control measures implemented which are necessary to reduce the risk of injury to an acceptable level. Surely there is no compromise on these controls until the situation changes, the assessment is reviewed & controls can be revised. These days protective footwear comes in many forms – one of which may be more suited than others for those with medical conditions, but if no suitable footwear can be found – I don’t see how you can justify putting these people at risk of injury and allow them to carry out the specific task (or work in a specific area) without adequate protection. Dependant on the circumstances you may need to look into the possibility of providing alternative employment for these people (may also be a good move to foster good employee / employer relayionship).
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#3 Posted : 05 June 2003 10:31:00(UTC)
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Posted By Hilary Charlton Hi Neal Perhaps you could set up individuals meetings for these employees with your Company Doctor, you could also present, at the same time, the various types of safety footwear available today, ie composite toe caps, steel toe caps and anti-bacterial socks etc. Perhaps your Doctor can help you find a halfway point where the employee will be able to wear safety shoes of a particular type. Obviously, if they cannot wear safety shoes at all then they really should not be working in that environment, waivers and disclaimers as we all know count for absolutely diddly-squat when it comes to litigation. Good luck. Hilary
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#4 Posted : 05 June 2003 10:39:00(UTC)
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Posted By Neal Robertson Thanks for above responses - they basically echo my own thoughts. I left the posting deliberately vague to see if others would concur with my own feelings.
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#5 Posted : 06 June 2003 10:25:00(UTC)
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Posted By Zyggy Turek Having experienced similar problems in the past, we used to contact the footwear manufacturer & have "specials" made up which met both our requirements & those of the individual. The extra costs were not that much more expensive than the standard issue & future supplies were easily obtained by quoting a unique reference number.
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