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

Call ACAS - They'll be able to formally advise you on work law.

At 58 I would have thought you’d have learnt not to be so rude. You have no idea how fit or not the OP is. You don’t know the layout or steepness of the stairs. Four flights of stairs, ten times a day, carrying heavy laundry bags…yeah, I’m sure 'you' could run up them and not be knackered and out of breath!

Again… the OP isn’t doing the stairs anymore. Now she’s just complaining about it.

Weird there’s been no mention of “Thanks for the advice” “will pass on that information” etc. Just “I want to chat about this subject”. Very odd.

Join a trade union

Join a trade union

There very well might be for that model. Elevators are relatively well regulated, and you're essentially stuck waiting for the manufacturer to make them if there's no stock of parts. You can't just go and buy an aftermarket part in most cases.

YANBU and yes it is does contravene H&S law if the lift is broken. The only exception is the period of time that it takes to get the parts to fix it, so as long as the repair is booked in then that's OK.
Hopefully it gets fixed soon.

Mitara
It can't be easy lugging heavy things up and down stairs. But in your boss's defence he may be telling the truth. Two friends were without lifts in blocks where they lived for months. One was for five months and this in a building which is less than 20 years old. Already some of the lift parts are obsolete and had to be sourced outside the UK. In the other case, a very old lift, the part had to specially made. It isn't always a case of just ordering the part. Your boss isn't a lift engineer and he is probably repeating what he has been told. Complaining about the cost is neither here or there if he isn't paying for it. However, he could have some young lads do the heavy lifting in the meantime.

Sorry if I missed some of the replies, so this may be a repeat of previous posts - Does your employer actually own the building, or is it owned by a 'service' type company that the employer rents from? Are you in a Union, or do your have H & S reps who can look into the legalities of this (as in, not everyone is able to do multiple journeys up & down several floors - and no - it isn't necessarily going to 'make you fitter' - it could badly exasperate many health conditions). I do agree though, that some 'parts' required to fix a lift need to be ordered from overseas & can take ages (in my companies case, years) to fix. Although, we don't have to lug equipment etc. Hope it gets sorted out before too long. x

I’d have no issue with manual heavy lifting in my job provided the proper risk assessments and safe methods of work were put in place, which it doesn’t sound like your employer has done.

Many posters have suggested this to you as a solution ie talk to your employer, insist they do this.

Instead you seem intent on simply refusing without any attempt at reaching a sensible short term compromise.

and yes going on about people complaining their hearts are racing, they’re going to pass out, people suffering in terrible conditions IS dramatic language.

I do a awful lot of physical hard work and lifting heavy iteams as part ofy job ( 30,000 steps and 8 flights of stairs pulling 500kg, but we do not carry iteams up and downstairs because of health and safety, this would need a revised risk assessment, on the plus side it does get easier as you get fitter.

This thread shows the importance of trade unions - all workers need to join and support one.

Why are some people trying to shame the OP by saying it’s not a lot of stairs for an average person. Well 4 flights is a lot more than most people would choose to walk. 1-2 floors i’d walk it, 4 I would get the lift. If carrying heavy linen for example, it would get much harder. Sounds like OP is up and down the stairs a lot, so it’s no wonder it’s so tiring. I think most people would find it a struggle going up and down throughout the day. Ask the manager for a timeframe, and let him know people are struggling. Just incase he is stalling.

Do none of your colleagues have disabilities which render using the stairs either difficult, dangerous or impossible? Also, if you work in an establishment like a hotel this would mean that disabled guests might be unable to stay there, unless you had rooms with level access. I assume your boss is fine with potentially excluding disabled people from the building if it means not shelling out to fix a vital tool for accessibility, even though it doesn't sound like the cost will be coming out of his pocket. This is added to the fact that he seems to think it's accessible to expect employees to carry heavy loads up and down stairs multiple times a day in this heat too. I have no idea what his problem is, but I assume he isn't offering to assist with the heavy lifting himself!

Some people on here are being right cunts.

It is not unreasonable for employees who have to carry a lot of heavy stuff repeatedly to expect there to be a lift. It's also not unreasonable for a business where a lift is essential to keep lift parts in stock. The employer has failed on at least these two counts.

How many times a week people go to the gym, how old they are, how many flights of steps they gladly skip up and down a day etc are all completely irrelevant here.

Just a thought, have any of you got asthma that walking up all these stairs in this heat could affect? Or any of you disabled or have bad backs?

Sounds like a nightmare! I'd echo others and say this definitely needs to be taken to a union. Get some representation behind you.
As it's a privately owned company I'm guessing there's no occupational health service, but all employers have a legal responsibility to ensure the physical and mental wellbeing of their employees. People are struggling. This wasnt what they signed up for and for someone with mobility issues who took the job in the understanding they would be using a lift, this could have a significant impact on both their physical and mental health. Which is something a union rep can address.
I really hope you can get this resolved.

I agree with you on nearly all of this other than the keeping lift parts in stock. Lifts are expensive, complex pieces of engineering. You don't go keeping a spare £10,000 motor hanging around "just in case". If the lift reaches the end of its life and needs replacing and you haven't used all the spare parts then you've just thrown thousands of pounds of money down the drain.

If the lift reaches the end of its life and needs replacing and you haven't used all the spare parts then you've just thrown thousands of pounds of money down the drain.

And if you do need to use the part, if you've had it a while you might find the spec has changed and it no longer meets the latest safety standards.

It’s a problem

whining about lack of spare parts and demanding instant lift back is pointless bordering on stupid

you need to solve the interim problem - u less you think the hotel should just shut down till it’s resolved ?

More like a hostal that can have many beds per room on each floor, hence incurring huge amounts of bed linen.

Ah, but OP is being coy about the type of organisation, comparing the manager unfavourably with the manager of a partner property, bigging herself up for ‘helping’, but not taking on practical information from posters about actually helping her overburdened colleagues to resolve the situation.

I have sympathy for those staff members who are under the cosh but I feel OP is making it more about her, especially about her feelings for those people instead of trying to help them get the situation sorted.

Well then a company where a lift is essential and possibly legally required clearly needs to find some other way of stopping stuff like this happening.

Genuine question. Is there a situation where a lift is a legal requirement?

Thank you for that input but I was merely suggesting what type of establishment it was.

Don't really understand your comment about the OP making it all about them when they have made numerous comnents that they are concerned about other colleagues, but do agree with you that they haven't come across in their posts that they are taking any advice given, onboard.