Whose in the wrong?

[pepperrabit]

Accident at work?

Hi, keeping this minimal details to keep anon.

I had a pretty serious accident at work a few days ago.

Basically resulted in a hospital visit. Was potentially fatal in different circumstance’s due to the fact I have to work alone. I was just educated enough to have a rough idea of my condition.

A few friends and family have said I should look into legal advice.

The thing is, I can’t decide who if anyone is at fault. I’m about 80/20 that it’s the fault of my employer.

I basically had to complete a task that is mentioned no where in the operation manual. But the task is mentioned to be completed just not how.

So, the only way to do so is in an unsafe manner. The injury is something that could be expected in my line of work but not for this reason.

I was also alone at the time, which has always been unreasonable to me. I can’t imagine, given the equipment used that a risk assessment for lone working has been completed?

I also had to wait for cover before I was permitted to leave.

So although very minimal information, what are thoughts, any advice?

I am a member of a trade union so will seek advice from them come Monday.

No but equally it didn't occur to me it was this unsafe. And also never usually goes down well in my experience haha

Oh that's handy to know!

Okay got one!

Imagine at home, you put sharp knives in the sink with the rest of the dishes.

At work, this would be a risk, right?

And using this example I wasn't shown to handle the knives differently to the forks.

Report to the HSE too...?

Was it your job to "wash the knives"?

My office job (with no sharp objects other than one pair of scissors) has a lone working policy.

@whathasitgottodowiththepriceofoliveoil definitely my job to "wash the knives". But if I "washed the knives" separate from everything else I would have been wasting product. Which is why it has to be done with everything else.

How many employees does the buisness have OP? Is it less than 5? All businesses need to risk assess but it's only mandatory to document with 5 or more employees (although I'd argue it would be sensible for all to do so).

FYI There isn't a set review period in law (but they do need to be reviewed and up to date) and employees need to have access to them but there's no rule you have to sign them (though this isn't an unreasonable thing for an employer to do to show they've shared them).

Just to clarify I'm not commenting on whether who is right or wrong in your situation op just more on why your experience with risk assessments might be different to other posters. Hope you recover quickly and definitely worth talking through with your union rep

Oh that's handy to know thanks!

I'm equally not bothered with what the outcome is just that if it isn't my fault then I wouldn't want to be screwed over as I don't particularly think this is a good place to work in terms of rules and regulations. Even if it means no more lone working as I don't think the other employees for health reasons would have been capable of reacting as quickly as I did.

Has a risk assessment been completed for this task?

I’m in no way a health and safety expert but I think there should be safeguards in place when you’re lone working.
When I was lone working in a previous job we did a risk assessment before hand then I had to check in with my manager at agreed times through the day.

Get your union.to.ask for their lone worker policy/procedures and the risk assessment for the task you were doing. They need to ask for it Monday and ask for it by return email.
Just a word of advice ... if you have an accident at work and need to leave ... do.just that, immediately. You do not have to follow unreasonable instructions.

OP sorry to hear about your accident. You're right to speak to your union. They will need to put you in touch with their personal injury solicitors. Your union should also advise you about meetings with your employer & sick pay.

ACAS won't be able to help with this.

Also please make sure you see your GP and take photos of your injury to the extent you can now & as it heals.

Good luck and hope you feel better soon.

Does it though? Or could it have been immediately before or after without wasting the product?

Not that I seen or heard of...

These are all interesting as it never crossed my mind anything about lone working and my employer certainly never brought it up...

Assuming they answer me back! 🙈

Thank you. Definitely took plenty of pictures!

@Spirallingdownwards well in terms of that example, yes.

In terms of the metaphor, no that wouldn't work haha as the comparison tales off then 😂

Even if it is 80/20, all that would mean is any compensation is reduced accordingly, not that you’re not entitled to anything.

Hi all,

Contacted my trade union they said what I was doing was not silly because it is something that needs to be done but what was unreasonable was having me do it with no guidance or PPE.

Unsure what to do now? I didn't get my normal union rep as they are on holiday.

@pepperrabit can you pm me the industry please? You can report it yourself to either the HSE or the local authority so that they can investigate, but which one is the correct enforcement authority depends on the industry

I am a H&S professional and I do know the law around this.
From what you've said - and I obviously don't have the full story - your employer is very much at fault. Not only is it possible you could bring a civil action against them, they could be prosecuted for H&S offences under criminal law.

This is clearly a hazardous task. They have legal duties to do a risk assessment, provide a safe system of work, provide training (and keep records) and have emergency procedures. It looks like they've failed to do any of that.

Keep notes of how much of your normal job you can do when you return to work. If you are working but can't do your normal duties for over 7 days the accident is reportable under RIDDOR. This again is the employer's legal duty. If they don't do it it's another breach of H&S law (criminal law) on top of the rest.

Yes you do have responsibilities as an employee. But unless you weren't meant to be doing the task, or had been given a safe system of work but blatantly chose not to follow it, you're not at fault here.

Please keep notes of everything that happens. Ask to speak to your union's H&S rep and say you think there were breaches of H&S law.

If it's a task that you can easily do at home then surely it's not something that carries any risk just because it's in the workplace? So is the issue more that accidents can happen anywhere at any time, and the danger came from the fact that you were working alone?

You say you could have bled to death yet didn't call an ambulance and waited three more hours to leave, so it's difficult to know the extent of the risk and impact involved.

Without any information (which I understand you don't want to give) no one can advise you at all. Speak to a union rep.