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Posted By geoff whiteley
I have a friend who had an accident at work. (Lost the end of a finger using an old circular saw with no guard) Since returning to work he has been asked to sign a form saying that the machine was in good working order and having refused to sign this has become a victim of apparent harrassment and is stressed out. There appear to be a number of H&S breaches No Risk Assessment, no guard or emergency stop. He is unable to establish whether the accident has been reported under RIDDOR but strongly suspects it hasnt. Any suggestions on the best way forward?
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Posted By ITK
Tell him to ring the enforcing authority.
LA or HSE
ITK
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Posted By Kevin Brown
I assume that the workplace isn't unionised, otherwise there'd be some support available for him. The employer must fear some sort of investigation into the accident as there's no point in getting a signed disclaimer otherwise. Maybe the RIDDOR report went in anyway, the injury certainly qualifies under Schedule 1 of the Regs.
Some employers have a tendency to promote the view that workers are to blame for their own accidents or ill health because (a)it draws attention away from unsafe systems of work and focusses attention on mistakes individuals make, and (b) it fulfils their need to deny liability for accidents and ill health to avoid paying compensation.
The disclaimer your friend has been asked to sign means nothing, if anything it only shows that if, in his opinion, the saw was in good working order the employer has failed to train him properly. Any HSE inspector will form their own conclusions from the evidence, they're well aware of the pressure employers exert on their workforce to avoid responsibility. Unfortunately,the choices left to the employee are accept the status quo or do something about it. Try an injury lawyer, or blow the whistle. He's lost part of his body, it won't grow back, he'll never play the piano again. Texting may become a problem (as might saying goodnight to the boss in the time-honoured fashion). It's either bite back or lie back.
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Posted By CFT
Geoff
I'm with ITK on this one; why do they feel they can own a persons life? It is employment for goodness sake;-(
CFT
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Posted By MickN
Geoff,
Your friend should contact his solicitor. Being asked to sign "waivers" sounds, to me, like the company management are running scared. A solicitor will inform your friend of his rights and this is the most important factor.
As has been stated already the local authority and/or HSE should be contacted too.
The employer knows that fear of losing his job is the only thing keeping the status quo right now.
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Posted By I. M. Twining
I would say the first thing your friend needs to do is make a record of any unsafe practices (with photos if possible especially of the unguarded machine) and present these to his employer, obviously keeping a copy for himself. This way he is covered under law for when he does blow the whistle and is possibly dismissed by the employer. Should he then take it to an employment tribunal the employer can't say he was not made aware of the problems and had had no chance to address them. If your friend can he also needs to get hold of a copy of the disclaimer (unsigned of course).
The fact that the employer is worried could be for one of two reasons; The HSE are involved (if so I would have thought they would have been in touch with your friend by now) or he is worried your friend is looking for compensation and is trying to mitigate his liability. Either way your friend should not sign the disclaimer.
As suggested your friend also needs to approach a good injury lawyer and sue the employer for everything he can get.
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Posted By Mitch
One responsibility of employees at work is for their own Health and Safety, the injured party has already indicated that he was aware the saw was not fit for purpose thereby a proportion of the blame will sit with him he may not get as much as you might think. In a recent case an employee suffered an horrific fall from height, when it got to court he admitted unrestraining and moving a ladder which caused the fall, as such he was deemed 50% responsible and was only awarded nominal damages. PS he will never work again!
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Posted By Kevin Brown
The injured party may well have 20/20 hindsight and, in the aftermath of the incident, he probably appreciates that the saw blade should have been guarded. Unless he has had the appropriate training in safe methods of working on the equipment the degree of his contributory negligence is difficult to judge. It may actually point to a failure to provide adequate training on the employer's part, particularly if he is young and/or inexperienced. Instead of digging themselves out of a hole, the employers are digging it deeper. Their unsubtle attempt to get a signed waiver seems to me to be a tacit admission of blame.
Whilst the amount of any potential compensation could very well be minimal it is still better than nothing + stress + harassment. Even if there's no payout, any improvement in safe working methods would help prevent similar incidents.
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Posted By RCH
Due to the fact that I have been in the Safety `game` for some time now I tend to (and in some circumstances not justified) think badly of any claim in the respect that, in 2008 we should really have a good handle on all things `safety` and therefore there should be no need for considerable (understanding that small claims will never leave us) claims any more, or at least not often! However in circumstances like this one it just shows how far some employers have to go to even get half way to where they should be and not to sound too negative but with the picture built by the original post this particular employer should get everything they deserve!
That being said employees & society as a whole also need to accept that it’s not all the employers problem/responsibility to deal with safety and the fact that when I’m asked what I do for a living in some social circles I expect to be grilled over silly myths and personal issues shows we as society still hold the dreaded Health & Safety profession etc. with caution and undereducated opinions.
That’s my rant for the day.
RCH
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Posted By geoff whiteley
Many thanks for the helpful responses. I agree that this organisations actions indicate that they are very anxious about their H&S arrangements (??) Any other views are still appreciated.
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