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Posted By JULIE SANDERS
Thank you in advance of responses, we are currently assessing the potential problems of Staff contracting tetanus as a result of work carried out, and would like to assess opinions of whether it is an inviduals duty to keep tetanus injections upto date or is the employers duty?
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Posted By Hilary Charlton
If they are at danger of contracting tetanus from their job then I feel it is your duty to ensure that all the tetanus jabs are up to date. You have an absolutely duty under Section 2 of the Health and Safety At Work Act to ensure the health, safety and welfare at work of all employees. Failure to provide tetanus jabs and keep these up to date when a risk assessment has shown that this is a real possibility, would be a failure under the requirements above.
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Posted By Steve Wood
a number of our staff work near sewage; we give them the option of suitable inoculations (fully funded) - we find it impractical to absolutely enforce it as some people have a fear of needles.
I suppose if our risk assessment suggested in was absolutely necessary, we'd have to write it into the selection process. but what would we do with the existing staff if there were no other jobs to re-assign them to?
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Posted By Chris Turner
This could be viewed in similar vein (no pun intended) as an employee who refuses to wear ppe. That is the employer must be seen to have done AFARP to get the employee to co-operate.
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Posted By Michael Miller
As my employer is a social housing provider we often get empty properties vacated by a known drug user. We employ a specialist trained team to clean and sanitise these houses. Beacause of the obvious risk of needle stick injuries, all of the team are vaccinated. We pay for this and it is mandatory. If the operative refused then they will have effectively made themselves unemployed as we have no other work to assign them to. Harsh I know buy thats what they sign up to.
Mike
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Posted By Steve Armstrong MIOSH
As a Health and Safety Manager working for an Oil & Gas Drilling Company overseas, I refer to a case a couple of years ago, of a similar contractor based in the UK.
The company had identified that there was a risk to their employees sent to work in Nigeria of contracting Maleria . The company had also identified the controls necessary to reduce the risk ALARP, i.e., they had sourced an approved occupational medical centre and obtained their advise on what they should do; in this case the advise was to provide anti-Maleria tablets.
The company, however, choose to ignore this advice and an employee whom had just returned from his first trip to Nigeria died from maleria.
The company were prosecuted under HASAWA and fined £100,000 after being found guilty. The widow also recieved a 'substantial' out of court compensation settlement.
The Maleria tablets would have cost the company around £20 - 30 and a lot less court and media attention!
Our company provides all our employees working overseas, or otherwise identified at risk from viral or bacterial hazards, with the appropriate vaccinations, including Tetanus.
Take my advice Julie and provide the vaccinations.
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Posted By Peter J Harvey
I am always interested in this type of thread, having had staff have injuries with the potential to contract infections. Whilst the real risk is very low in most cases and especially if appropriate first aid is given, you have to consider the stress associated with such injuries.
Imagine turning up at an A&E with a laceration or wound a needle stick injury, or after falling into sewage or other waste material. You are going to be inoculated and given some general advice, however even if the contact is from a known risk area, it is not likely that you are going to receive drugs or treatment. You have to then wait three months for a blood test and results.......
Provide the inoculations if they are needed or have staff awaiting the test results and suffering considerable stress.
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Posted By Dave Wilson
Think that
"He who introduces the risk, controls the risk!"
Is there a risk of getting this 'at work'?
NO - Don't bother.
YES - Then supply to those who want it.
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Posted By Andy Stokes
I work for a UK wide environmental charity. Both our staff and volunteers work in the outdoors and tetanus is down as a hazard which needs protection against. However, on inspection by the HSE I was advised I couldn't make staff 'take medication' as neither I nor my organisation was medically competent to make the assessment that it was OK to do so. We were advised to 'inform the workers that inocculation was advisable' and show evidence of this in our documentation given to volunteers and staff on induction. He also pointed out that to keep medical records, or be party to them, was also not something we were likely to be able to do without falling foul of the Medical Records Act. I know a little more now than I used to, but the advice has stuck. Any thoughts welcome
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Posted By Diane Thomason
Andy has got this spot on.
This is outside a safety adviser's remit as it is a medical matter and the advice of a medical practitioner is needed.
Dave, sorry - I have to disagree with you about "provide to those that want it" if it's a risk connected with their work. This is a bit like providing PPE on the basis of risk assessment, and then allowing people to choose whether they want to wear it! You have identified the risk and the appropriate control measures - now you must apply the controls. BUT only as advised by a medical practitioner i.e. an occupational health physician/nurse.
Diane
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Posted By Dave Wilson
Diane,
Disagree here, remember that this is an invasive technique and you may not be able to enforce innoculation on all, although it may be advisable to do so.
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Posted By Diane Thomason
Dave,
I agree totally that this can't be enforced. But I think that IF the risk assessment indicates that people really should have this immunisation as they are at risk of infection, then the employer's attempt should be a bit more than to supply it to "those who want it", whilst stopping short of compulsion.
Actually I think we probably in agreement here but expressing it differently! To me, "to those that want it" sounded like you say "anyone want a tetanus jab? No? Oh OK then, just carry on doing this hazardous job unprotected". Which obviously isn't what you meant!
I stand by my comment that Occupational Health or some other medical practitioner should be the one making the recommendation - as they are the only ones qualified to judge whether someone needs an immunisation or not.
best wishes
Diane
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Posted By Jack
I agree that you cannot make an employee have an injection against their wishes. But does there not come a point (although not necessarily with tetanus) when a decision has to be made(on the basis of a risk assessment undertaken by a suitably competent person eg OH physician) that if they have not been immunised then they cannot undertake certain activities?
Hilary, Section 2 an 'absolute duty'? Is it not SFARP?
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Posted By Dave Wilson
Diane,
Was just trying to be to the point, of course an OH person in conjunction with the Company / H&S make the relevant Assessment and subsequent Risk Management decision in consultation with the workforce etc etc.
Still can't make then have one though! This is not PPE etc
Are we getting into the realms of Human Rights V Safety and Employers Liability?
Also think people use Sect 2 to the Letter, would the HSE prosecute under this because an employee refuses a tetanus injection? Probably not, Sect 2 is a catch all, if we can't prosecute under anything else then Sect 2 will do fine.
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