Accident at work - no accident book

[Malbecfan]

I am looking for some advice for my 18yo DD. She was working in a local restaurant over the summer doing 2 or 3 shifts per week waitressing. One evening whilst polishing wine glasses, one snapped in her hand and the stem went into the palm of her hand. There was a big gash & quite a lot of blood. They ran it under the tap for some time and wrapped it in a clean towel and asked her to call us. DH and older DD went to collect her as she was unable to drive home. Older DD & I took her to A&E where it was x-rayed then glued and dressed. She was told not to remove the dressing for at least 5 days and not to get it wet. As it was a restaurant, obviously she could not work as she was bandaged up and could not wash her hand.

She returned to work around 10 days later (she missed 2 or 3 shifts). However, she has not signed an accident book. Nor has she ever been told/shown if there is one, or where the first aid kit is. To add insult to literal injury, they have not paid her anything for the entire time she worked there, other than the tips she received after each shift. She has texted the owner asking politely when she might be paid but has received no response. Originally she was told the end of August, but now a week of September has passed and she is still waiting. She does not like confrontation but I am getting really annoyed as I think they have taken advantage of her.

I think her next step is to go in and ask face-to-face for her wages. I'm happy to go in with her. Am I correct in thinking that if nothing is forthcoming, it's a Letter Before Action, then Small Claims? What about the Accident Book issue? At the end of the day I don't want to ruin the place, but they need to learn that they cannot treat their staff like this. It's probably no more than £150 she's owed, but when you are 18, that's no small sum. She has worked really hard all summer and I'm really angry that she is being messed about. Any advice would be gratefully received. TIA

i cannot imagine getting worked up about the lack of an accident book.

She needs to get annoyed about the wages though. Her not you though, noone wants an employees parents getting involved.

Its RIDDOR reportable by the employer to the HSE as it's an over seven day injury.
There should be an accident book, first aid kit, first aider, plus health and safety law poster and employers liability certificate on display.
she should get sick pay if the employer doesn't pay wages for injuries. It often makes sense to carry on paying wages to injured employees - less likely to pursue if they feel they have been treated fairly.

I've just dealt with a similar case- as glasses go through hot dishwasher cycles they get progressively weaker and more likely to break, so employers are strictly speaking required to monitor the age of glassware and/or rough number of cycles it's been through and inspect it for defects. Most don't.

They're very foolish to not pay her under these circumstances.

There was a big gash & quite a lot of blood. They ran it under the tap for some time Definitely NOT what should be done with a bleeding wound.

They have a duty to ensure the health and safety of their staff and not to do so is a violation of the law.
www.fsb.org.uk/resources/how-do-i-deal-with-health-and-safety-violations

I was going to say the same as forest. That amount of time off work means it’s RIDDOR reportable.

Someone else can fill in the accident book but on her return to work she should have had the option to check it’s accuracy.

I can’t believe they just ran it under the tap.

I’d hit them for everything you can now, just out of spite for them being cf’s. Their faulty equipment hurt your daughter, they didn’t cover her pay after being injured in work, and now they’re withholding her wages. I’d go for a free half an hour meeting with a no win no fee solicitors. Find out what she’s entitled to claim for (which may be a lot more than you think) and teach the mofo’s a lesson. I’d be raging 😡

And yes, running a bleeding wound under a tap is also ridiculous. I wonder if any of the managerial staff have undergone basic training.

Thank you to everyone who has offered helpful and knowledgable advice.

Firstly, she has finally been paid. The owner's wife texted this morning to say she had lost DD's bank details so please could DD let her have them again. DD did and it is now in her bank.

I don't particularly want to take action against them. They have only been open a few months and are deservedly popular. However, as a teacher myself, I want them to learn lessons from this, both in terms of how DD was treated immediately after the accident and their H&S procedures. When we took DD to A&E, the nurse practitioner said that running it under the tap was no bad thing as it helped to wash out any glass shards. She also said that they had done a reasonable job in terms of their first aid. I have zero medical qualifications so don't want to comment further. But if there is a better way of treating such injuries, they need to be aware of it.

They also need to report it. The lack of signing anything, no knowledge of where the first aid kit was and other matters make me rather wary.

Thanks again for the help.