Posted By halesowen Baggie Ive got an employee that works within our maintenance dept. We are a medium chemical plant (loads of nasties). This guy is prone to fits, how should I handle this? H&S is no problem i.e. Risk assessments and the like, Im more concerned with employment law and discrimination if I decide he can or cant do certain things. E.G I say he cant do something, he says he can, etc. In truth the nature of the job and substances involved I think he is at a high risk of personal injury if he were to fit at work. He has also left a medical file in the first aid room for potential first aiders to look at in an emergency, the first aid room is locked with myself and first aiders having key access, what do people think about this?

Posted By sharon Field I have come across this situation just recently. you have to step out of the ring and think about this logically, if the employee is not allowed to drive due to the risk of injury to himself and other road users, why would it be feasible to put them and other staff member at risk in the work place. Regard shaz

Posted By halesowen Baggie Do people think I should stop him doing all hazardous activities? A fit is a fit at the end of the day and if he has one and hurts himself we will be for the high jump. Stricter duty of car Paris v Stepney etc. I have read some stupid prosecutions by the HSE after an incident for failing to carry out a suitable RA, the person that was responsible for the RA would have needed to cover every angle and scenario imaginable for the assessment to have been suitable to the incident in question. EG the person on working on the picking line should have been wearing an hard hat to combat the risk of a nut falling from an helicoptor through the building skylight onto his shiny dome! Another point digressing a bit, I went to observe a prosecution in a local magistrates court recently, the 3 JPs did not have a clue on H&S. If you were arguing suitability of a RA in a magistrates court and the RA was suitable and sufficient,but you had a person that had suffered injury at work, I think no matter what was said, the judgement would always go against you.(They see somebody hurt, you are at fault) Get down to your local magistrates court its a real eye opener.

Posted By halesowen Baggie I totally agree in getting input from all sources, but if the guy in question has a fit doing certain things he will be killed.No ifs or buts. The occ nurse may say one thing, and the gentleman in question another. It falls on the H&S manager at the end of the day, can I take the risk of something going wrong even if it may be 1/100,000,000 chance.

Posted By tommy_t I suppose one thing to know is how often does he have these fits - is it hourly, daily, weekly, annually, or not happened for a long time? If it is decided that due to the regularity and suddenness of the fits certain jobs are unsafe, then I think that he should be 'banned' from doing those jobs. I think health and safety requirements take precedent over discrimination (although I'm sure some may disagree). I don't believe however that you can simply dismiss him from his job. The company must try and accomodate him in his job - can he still do maintenance work without doing these 'high risk' tasks? I don't really agree when you say that something should be stopped even if there is only a 1 in 100,000,000 chance of it happening - that's surely going into risk aversion which I thought 'we' were against.

Posted By halesowen Baggie I agree about risk aversion but if something goes wrong, and Im for it risk aversion is a very real option.

Posted By Jason911 I myself would seek advice on the employees limitations from his G.P or consultant as part of my risk assessment and then decide, after speaking with the employee himself and his superiors, exactly what he can and can't do. We are not medical practitioners after all and I don't beleive we can be expected to be. I loved the comment about the nut and the skylight and will be sure to use it the next time an inspector calls!

Posted By Adrian Watson Maggie is totally correct on this matter. You need to have this person evaluated by a competent physician, who can come to a proper decision after speaking with the person. It may be that this person has symptoms, e.g. flashing lights, odours, headache, etc that warn the person that a fit is about to occur. If this is the case, the person may be able to remove himself from the area, without putting himself or others at risk. Remember, this person has the right to be treated as an individual and have their case evaluated on its own merits. Just because this person has epilepsy does not mean that this person cannot work safely. Regards Adrian Watson

Posted By Jan Rowney Having read through this thread it would make most sense to me if the Occupational Health Advisors undertook to complete the risk assessment with the person concerned and the appropriate Line Manager. Surely as medical professionals they have the appropriate knowledge (eg all the medical information relating to that person that others "outside the box" are not and cannot be privy to), and understanding to ensure a documented risk assessment would be suitable and sufficient. In liaison with the Line Manager they can ensure that all risks in the workplace are covered with that persons job tasks. It does not make sense to me to request a H&S professional to undertake a medical issue risk assessment when we are not medically trained as previously stated. I too loved the walnut, helicopter quote! Jan