Lift broken at work

[Mitara]

The lift has been broken in my workplace for the last month.

The employer said he has been waiting for a part that he ordered.

However i have heard him moan about the cost of getting the lift fixed. He said that it will cot him thousands of pounds to get it fixed . He wont be paying for it out of his own pocket. It will come out of company money, but he just doesnt like paying for it.

The lift being broken has resulted in me and other members of staff having to walk up and down a lot of stairs more for normal tasks, and we are also having to do heavy lifting up and down stairs. I honestly feel like im going to collapse.

Is there any law or workplace safety regulation that states that an emloyer must get a lift fixed, if not having a lift is causing health and safety risks to employees.

I was trying to look it up last night but havent found anything specific yet. I would love to find something specific and show it to him

Really? When carrying heavy loads a normal person wouldn't use a lift? I think you're incorrect. The risk assessment for moving heavy loads will include using the lift.

In workplaces there is an expectation you will hold a hand rail whilst using the stairs, and carrying a heavy loads would make that impossible.

In a hospital or similar I would expect a datix to be raised pointing out the unacceptable increased risk of falls to senior staff and I would expect the lift fix to be escalated.

In the mean time I would expect the linen to be broken into smaller bundles and the work load to be shared across a wider group. I'd also ask them to investigate other mitigations such as joists or other tools to lighten the load.

Carrying heavy and unwieldy loads up multiple flights of stairs is dangerous and the more often it's done the more the risk occurs

I worked in a hotel 80 rooms, four stars. Housekeeping went on strike, just walked out. General Manager got all the managers in every department to do changeover. Making beds, cleaning bathrooms. We only did it once then refused.

Just walk out.

FFS!

This really is the weirdest thread…

@Mitara You appeared to have solved your problem. I can understand concern for the cleaners and others. But what the heck are you expecting from this thread? You are coming across as very odd and aggressive in your posts. You’ve been given advice and are still arguing about the amount of stairs and the manger allegedly purposely not fixing the lift.

Op There are an number of laws regarding the issue that you are facing to discuss this further call 0300 003 1747, this is for the Health and Safety Executive

FGS - the OP is NOT weird or aggressive. However there are an awful lot of argumentative posters on this thread who have never done a day's manual work in their whole life 🙄telling the OP that she should just crack on and stop complaining.

Have you seen the company H&S policy? Is there a risk assessment regards moving these loads? Ask to see the updated version now there is no lift, it should have been updated to reflect this and briefed to all employees working with these loads. Has there been any training on moving these loads and how to do it safely? Sounds like it needs reporting.

How do you know that? Please don't assume we've never done a day's manual Jon in our lives or had to carry children, shopping, luggage, furniture up flights of stairs in our poorly serviced highrise block of flats day in day out.

At my last job we had to do box lifting courses annually. Weight and how to lift. It was compulsory

Thanks for the advice. I dont want to think about our awful lift anymore. So i will be off this thread now.

Now pick up a 20kg weight, and do it all again. Until your health and safety people stop your becuase the oh&s on stairs is 3 points of contact. If you are carrying heavy things you don’t have a hand free and are in breach of policy. I’ve worked places where that would create a formal workplace issue my managers would have to raise with me, if I carried a laptop up the stairs with 2 hands.

Might depend what’s wrong with it. One of our lifts at work was out of action for months waiting on some specialist parts. We have full service contracts, the parts just weren’t available.

That’s not to say that makes it ok, your management needs to find an alternative in the meantime.

OP are your work premises open to the public ? If so he has a legal obligation to have it fixed and keep it in working order because he has to allow disabled access.

Bye, hope you manage to get it sorted.

I can't believe the responses on this thread. OP you're not being unreasonable.

Sorry I don't know what legal rights employees have- some might be able to claim that their health prevents them doing the lifting/stair walking.

The lift being broken has resulted in me and other members of staff having to walk up and down a lot of stairs more for normal tasks

YABU.

You should be using the stairs anyway. Most people are overweight & unfit. Walking up & down stairs is an easy efficient way to increase your fitness.

Don't be so nasty

I said the issue of carrying things (up and down steps) needs to be dealt with. I then said when JUST walking, it is normal for most to use the stairs, not take the lift, because it sounds like OP always uses it for convenience.

"Most" people should be addressing their levels of fitness in their own time and not creating health and safety issues carrying heavy loads of linen up and down stairs.

Thirty replies in six hours at work would suggest OP doesn't have enough to do, rather than too much.

It sounds like you work in an aged care home.

How on earth do the residents get around?

I would send an email or a text asking when the lifts would be fixed as you tripped carrying the dirty linens and are worried about in injury.

No i dont work in an aged care home.

We dont have any vulnerable people where i work.

Lol. I actually did a lot today. Ive been in three meetings. And ive been doing different tasks with different departments.

It doesnt take long to pick up the phone and type a reply on mumsnet.

With 40 bags of linen? The stairs yeah ok but with heavy linen for multiple journeys in a row?

he has to allow disabled access.

Only by reasonable adjustment (which is the lift). If we cared about disability rights in the UK (which we don't) then there would be a chain of liability for failing to discharge obligations under the EA that would allow for action to be bought.

However, as a friend who was unable to access their GPs surgery upstairs consulting room (which was the only room can can do smear tests) found out, a 3 month broken lift is not a cause for action. Meaning they had to suck up the costs of getting too and from the hospital (twice, because the first time they weren't equipped to move a patient from a wheelchair to the bed first time) themselves. They couldn't claim them back (ideally from GP and then to lift maintenance company who in turn should be indemnified by suppliers).