One of our employees appears to have an axe to grind with the company, he alleges that he slipped over on standing water and has filed a claim against the company which of course he has every right to do. The case is now in the hand of both parties solicitors and the employee is now back at work while the case rumbles on in the back ground. The employee is now taking his own photos and videos of the manufacturing plant on his mobile and registering what he sees deemed as dangerous all over the site I can only assume as to give this information to his solicitor to aid or strengthen his case. We don't have a phone policy on site and lots of people rely on their mobiles but now management are reviewing this policy because of one awkward individual. A photo or a video doesn't give a true representation of what is actually going on in the plant, we have had HSE inspections in the past and have never had any notifications served against us. Could be paranoid but whats to stop the employee sabotaging parts of the plant to aid his claim? I can garauntee if I walked around any manufacturing unit in the world with a camera even though it may never had been involved in accidents and had an excellent safety record I could still make it out to look bad and paint a very untrue picture of that facility Maybe this is a job for HR but I thought I would see if anyone else has had a similar experience, we don't really want to review our mobile phone policy but the guy is making it very difficult

Previous record is not very good if I'm honest, has history of being an awkward customer, no proof but have heard from his coleagues that he failed his FLT refresher on purpose so that he would have less to do in work. I personally get on with him , think he is a decent enough bloke and I'm also long enough in the tooth not to believe or judge on the strength of work gossip which may contradict my first paragraph but its just to give you an impression He is more non compliant about his role than most

I agree , if his solicitors point out X,Y and Z faults or dangerous occurences which have been photographed on the plant then employee in question could be pulled up for not reporting them We have a stringent near miss and dangerous occurence policy so if he is spotting them and not telling anyone on site about them but telling his solicitor then he is infact put the safety of other people on site at risk

Ian - don't forget that if an employee does discover any shortcomings in the employers' safety arrangements he has a legal duty to inform his employer - see regulation 14 of the Management regulations.

Others have covered the H&S and HR side so can I add this: Do you have any intellectual property (IP) policies in place? I am certain that if I were taking photos and sending them outside of the business then I could be disciplined for breach of IP.

Mersey, what a ridiculous proposition that is. If you or your company cannot manage your activities in a safe and satisfactory manner you can't expect to shift responsibility to someone who happens to recognise 'issues' that others fail to see or choose to ignore. For example, if you drive dangerously and I witness that, it is not my fault that you later cause an accident and through your own negligence hurt someone. In the same way, you cannot blame this guy for safety issues not of his making, just because he is the one that spots them. By seeking to do so you you arre likely to make matters much worse.

Mersey, As available evidence indicates how you conscientiously you exercise the responsibilities of your role and endeavour to grapple constructively with a problem most of us would find v . challenging, may I offer an innovative practical approach? In 'The New Psychology of Leadership. Influence, Identity and Power', (Haslam, Reicher and Platow,Psychology Press, 2011), the authors make a good case for viewing probelms at work in terms of 'social identity'. That means that you REALLY ARE IN IT TOGETHER, in various degrees. The story you outline is one where the 'in it together' picture reflects a cultural shift, possibly a breakup, in which alternative lines of thinking and action disrupt the business story. In that sense, Mersey, you have an interesting opportunity to take the action necessary to stimulate cultural renewal. No kidding - a fascinating start to 2011!

This issue appears to be one which several management strands need to be addressing: HR, legal, security as well as H&S. If the employee is finding uncontrolled risks then these need to be sorted out very quickly. If he is manufacturing these risks himself then the appropriate action can be taken by HR/Legal.