Posted By B I promise that this is not a wind up! I work for a charity which provides support to adults with learning disabilities. I was contacted by one of our managers today regarding a cooking course which we support some of the service users to participate in – basic stuff, cakes, biscuits etc. The college they go attend to take the course is now insisting that all participants, including our staff who support the service users, wear black (and apparently they are very emphatic about the black part) safety shoes at all times on the course. Various people have argued with them but they are not budging. I have told the manager to ask for the risk assessment which identifies the need for safety shoes and am waiting for it to come through but thought I’d ask for the opinion of others as to whether this seems an appropriate measure to take? Am I alone in thinking that this is completely over the top? Safety shoes… on a cooking course? If I’m missing something here please let me know – this is by no means my area of expertise and I stand ready and willing to be corrected but I just can’t see the necessity! Thanks in advance for your comments. B

Posted By Peter Taylor14 All ours wear them, risks are spillage of hot foods liquids, floor wet/slippery through precipitation, dropping of knives/ kichen equipment makes perfect sense to me

Posted By B Thanks for your responses - that does make sense. We are not necessarily objecting to providing the shoes, just querying their necessity. It can be a different member of staff who provides support every week and funds are limited! Bear in mind that we are not talking about professional catering environments so I would imagine the risks would be considerably less than somewhere like KFC (and probably less than in the service user's own kitchens at home!), however the college is probably just trying to cover their own back, which is fair enough, and it is probably what has prompted this new rule! Does anyone have any ideas on the 'black' stipulation? Thanks for the responses - very helpful. B

Posted By Darren J Fraser Can understand the requirement to wear safety shoes. Black may be for appearance reasons, but contact the college for reason why. If funding is limited, you could consider contacting one of the larger suppliers of safety equipment (Arco, Buck&Hickman to name just 2) and see if they would be willing to provide free of charge in return for advertising/endorsement - they can only say no at the end of the day.

Posted By Saracen11 Hi B, I think this stipulation is over the top. From what you say and from experience, the people involved in this activity would not be exposed to such risks that would necessitate the need to wear safety shoes? A good strong leather, fully closed and laced shoe is what I would recommend to anyone that works in any kitchen. I'm aware of the cases that other people have referred to but in this case... I agree with the comment about asking to see their RA and how they arrived at their decision to stipulate this. I would be interested (if it were me) in what the catering staff in the college kitchen wore. Regards

Posted By Saracen11 Hi B, Dave I agree, which is why I think if the hazards cannot be controlled by means other than offering PPE, a person in this situation may have to accept that the risks are too high and their safety comes before learning a new skill... The class sounds like a 'cook-and-eat' type scenario, and I maintain that safety shoes are OTT. (Have you seen the time?) Night night world... Sleepy regards

Posted By Malcolm Hogarth Some good replies as usual. Black shoes - Rubbish Safety footwear - maybe, depending on the risk etc However..... the College may be bound by requirements of the Adult Learning Inspectorate or other bodies and do not have a great deal of choice themselves. If they do not do what the inspectors tell them they may be penalised - for example by withdrawing funding. It does appear on the face of it to be safety gone mad though.(I did an evening course in woodworking a couple of years ago and they did not provide hearing protection and a computor course where the chairs were not DSE compliant because we were not users) My advice - talk to them again and try to come to a pragmatic solution. You could also speak to the local Environmental Health Department for advice and assistance. The bottom line though I guess is that if that is what the College require you either go there or you don't. (How many of us require our client to wear Hi vis when they cannot see the reason? - No answer required!!) Malcolm