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Posted By halesowen Baggie
I have been asked by another branch of the company I work for a question on PPE.
An employee in a warehouse environment has just returned to work after breaking his foot. He is a reach truck driver and his job involves manual handling etc.
This morning was his first day back and he has found that his foot is swelling up due to the wearing of his safety shoes. His doctor said that this might happen and he originally told him to have another week or two off.
Now this guy has asked the site manager if he can wear a slipper in the warehouse to do his work.
I have advised the site manager not to allow this but to send the employee home quoting Paris v Stepney Borough Council (duty of care)etc & safety policy directive that the warehouse is a safety boots/shoes environment.
The site manager has responded that he will put him on 'light duties' in the warehouse, what would your response to this be?
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Posted By David Whaley
I was faced with a similar situation about six months ago. As responsible employers we try to ease people back into work wherever possible (rehabilitation) and light duties plays a part. I would ask the manager to be specific about the 'light duties' and ask for a risk assessment to be completed on those duties. It may be acceptable.
David
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Posted By John J
I'm surprised he's even suggested slippers, you'd think having one broken foot would put him off
From personal experience I broke my ankle in august and started off with a swollen leg.
Being the medical expert I am I chose to ignore the doctors advice to rest it where possible and ended up with a DVT.
I'd suggest that your course of action to get him home and rest it is the right one unless you can place him in a job where he is not at risk from a crush injury and he can occasionally raise his leg to drain off the fluid.
I can sympathise with him wanting to get back to work, daytime TV is enough to drive most people bonkers,
John J
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Posted By Darren J Fraser
Personnaly I would say that you have answered your own question with the statement that the warehouse is a safety footwear area and therefore the manager would be breaking company policy.
Reason I say this is the fact that during the day the individual is likely to end up carrying out a task that is very similar if not the same as they normal job function.
My advice would be to insist that the manager send the person home until such time that they are able to wear full protective equipment, I would then also re-instruct the manager concerned of their responsibilities under H&S management regs, HASWA 74 and company policy, involving the HR dept and any other relevant senior manager if that is required.
This is only my own opinion and line of action that I would take........remaining diplomatic at all time obviously.
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Posted By LynneR
similar scenario guy had his bunions removed and his toes broken to straighten.
he was signed as fit for work but could not wear the safety shoes as his foot continued to swell.
I sourced safety footwear in a trainer style so that he could continue to work and also meet our H&S criteria of steel midsoles and toecaps.
Happy chappy and healthy feet.
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Posted By Sally
I agree with the first response. It depends on what exact the role is and where it is located. It may simply be working in the warehouse office inputting data or similar. In this case he could maybe wear this shoes for the 2 minutes it takes him to cross the operational area and then take them off in the office.
My advice would be to check the details out thoroughly before saying 'it can't be done'
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