Posted By CharlesC
please can someone help. we are a national firm employing personel and as far as manual handling is concerned what are the legalities? if an accident occurs and training has not been completed where do we stand legally?

Posted By Kieran J Duignan
Charles

'Manual handling' is a task with various levels of complexity but one that is part of a great many jobs. So, you need to start with competent assessment of risks to which everyone who does manual handling is exposed. Paradoxically, the less frequent the individual does handling, the greater he/she may be at risk, especially if he/she is not physically fit in general.

Next up, training in safe methods of manual handling calls for a good understanding of the variety of hazards involved. So, get a trainer with a good grasp of the ergonomic issues

Thirdly, even a modest lower back injury can be very painful and result in absenteeism if not a claim for damages due to personal injury. So, think of the cost of risk assessment and training as an insurance against much higher costs of absence, work disruption and compensation