Posted By Thomas Kennedy
I'd be pleased to receive your comments on whether a landlord is taking risk avoidance to new levels or is being totally reasonable?

Basically an Evac-chair has been purchased to facilitate the evacuation of a disabled staff member. The intention was to site this in the protected lobby or stairwell. Both fall in the communal area controlled by the landlord.

However the request has been refused by the landlord on the grounds that another building occupant could "use it in a panic and cause injury".

Suggesting that the chair would be labelled as our property and be used by trained personnel only, fall on deaf ears.

The offices are shared by two quango's not a student halls or residence or whatever where I could foresee a problem of misuse. (PS: sorry students - I was one too and know from experience!).

Anyone met anything similar? What was the outcome?

Thx.

Posted By Richard Beevers
Slightly different story. We share premises as a unit in a shopping centre. The landlord has supplied c 100 Paraid evac-chairs and informed all the tenants that we must nominate one member of staff to use the one nearest our shop as part of the whole centre's evacuation plan.

I've tried to point out that any staff doing this will need proper training (& refreshers) - am told they can just read the instructions. They won't even contemplate contibuting to a trainng course I've organised.


Also can't get the landlord to acknowledge instances of staff holiday or sickness, or that using an evacuation chair is a very significant manual handling hazard.

Landlords view - chairs in place, all duties discharged! Anyone else had similar experiences?