Posted By Ron Young Don't see the problem myself. There is nothing in the Regs to say that you have to get a contribution before you buy. I don't understand why it's more hassle to claim back a contribution and if you keep proper records, I don't see where you would have more or less control. My advice is to let it go and change your system to accomodate the new practice

Posted By DW I think asking someone to pay up front would discourage an individual from getting the equipment at all. Especially if there is a period to wait to reclaim the money back.

Posted By Jonathan Breeze Cr8r, You are correct in saying the guidance is silent on this issue. However, I would suggest that management have made the mistake of Deciding to change the policy; Announcing that decision; and then Defending the decision against all costs. This is exactly what happened in the Shell Brent Spar fiasco where a perfectly reasonable solution had to be ditched because of a failure to consult stakeholders early in the process. Consultation with staff, unions, and other relevant parties early on is the key here. I suspect if this had been done you might not have been in the situation you now describe. Ironically our DSE policy also only pays up on submission of a valid receipt for eye tests & specs. However we did go thorough consultation (it was boring to the point of despair) and top management only got involved at the point of final approval.

Posted By Jonathan Breeze Jason, Technically, I don't think DSE spectacles are classified as PPE under the PPE @ Work Regs. Also S9 of HASAW Act would only be relevant if the company failed to pay up following submission of a valid receipt. Discuss...

Posted By Cr8r Jonathan, There was no consultation. I put an order in for vouchers, the order got cancelled, as the policy had suddenly been changed. End of consultation. Plus, employees all think I changed the policy 'cos I'm fairly new and it's been voucher system for years.

Posted By Ron Hunter So how does the employer know if the correct service is being provided, indeed how could he demonstrate that the legal duty is being discharged at all (you seem to be leaving it somewhat to chance that testing appropriate to VDU use will actually be done)? Parallel arguments above re PPE have merit - if everyone buys their own (e.g.) boots, how does the employer ensure they are to a satisfactory standard? I suggest you need to impress on your Financial Director that this is not an employee incurred "expense", rather a legal requirement on the employer to provide!

Posted By Jonathan Breeze Richard, Fair point and one that was in fact raised during the consultation. However, at the time it was agreed by all concerned that the policy was far clearer than the one it replaced, and that the act of consultation demonstrated the company was not attempting to obstruct staff. The policy was also submitted to the regulatory authorities who made (unofficial) comment at the time and appropriate amendments were included. Cr8r, worse luck! Like I said, consultation is very important and even a regulatory requirement in some circumstances (as pointed out by Richard). See Safety Reps & Safety Committees Regs 1977 and H&S (Consultation with Emps.) Regs 1996 and check their applicability. Ron, we get a signature from the employees optician (as the competent person) confirming the nature of the eyetest & any appliances. Jason, in that circumstance - yes PPE Regs would apply and you would have to formulate any policy carefully. However it did not apply in our circumstance. I still question whether S.9 of HASAW applies if any fee paid by the employee is reimbursed according to a formally laid out policy or procedure which is followed. We will probably consider that one again during our consultation & review process.

Posted By Gerry Knowles It may seem simple but we asked the employees what they wanted to do. We offered a number of options and the outcome was that the majority were in favour of seeing their own optician and reclaiming the money. As a concession we did say that we would arrange an advance of cash for anyone that wanted it. As yet no one has asked for and advance. Gerry Knowles