Posted By J Hollingsworth Hi All With the onset of winter Iam trying to evalulate / investigate the requirements reguarding Ice on company car parks. At present we have an annual problem with the build up of Ice on the car parks and have been advised by the building contractor that the surface requires heating and re-rolling (very expensive). Historically we have had no accidents/near-misses however the potential exists. As an employer we have a duty of care towards employees/contractors & visitors would the provision of a local salt grit bin be adequqte? How best is it to manage the use of these bins who would be responsible for dispensing the grit? Any advice would be welcome regards John

Posted By Pat Hannaway Hi, this is a regular problem. We had an employee successfully claim against us a few years ago, when he allegedly slipped on ice in the car park and suffered a fractured arm. His barrister pointed out that a 25kg bag of road salt costs approx £7 and contained sufficient salt to cover the car park three or four times. Judge in the case determined that it would have been "reasonably practicable" for us to grit the car park during icy weather. He referred to the Workplace Health, Safety and Welfare Regs: (Regulation 12 - Conditions of floors and tarffic routes): Approved Code of Practice states "Arrangements should be made to minimise risks from snow and ice. This may involve gritting, snow clearing and closure on some routes, particularly ouside stairs, ladders and walkways on roofs." Regards

Posted By Merv Newman Try local lanscape gardeners. Come ice and snow they are usually looking for work and might even do 24 hour callout. Merv