Health and Safety at Work

[AnnieBeansMum]

Hi Everyone, I'm hoping someone on here can help with a few issues at work. I am at my wits and my employer just doesn't seem to care. It may turn in to a bit of a rant, so bear with me.

I work in a small office (me and 2 others) and there are a couple of issues

1. They are stingy with heat and keep setting timers for the heating. Fair enough, but they turn it on at 9 (which means it doesn't get warm until almost 11) and they switch it off at 2.30 (cold by 4). When we get in in the morning, it is usually around 10 or 12 degrees which means we sit with our coats on until 10.30 or 11. Then again in the afternoon we have to put our coats back on again. The upstairs toilet has no heat and the cistern is frozen today and therefore will not flush

1. There are cables and extension leads running all over the floor (because they refuse to put extra power points in) which we are constantly tripping over

1. There are no smoke alarms or fire extinguishers even though we have repeatedly reported this to them

1. Our only exit is the front door as the rear door has been blocked off (propped another door against it to make it more secure )

1. We do not have an accident book, nominated first aid person or a first aid kit.

1. They are too cheap to pay for a bin from the council so we always have huge piles of bin bags which they take away when the mood strikes them.

There is so much more, but I'm sick of ranting. Is there anything we can do? We have considered reporting them to the Health and Safety Executive but are worried about the repercussions of this.

Phone public protection at your local council. I've done this, spoken hypothetically about the problem, didn't tell them the company or anything. Hopefully they can suggest something, maybe they would do an ad hoc inspection?

It'll be the council's responsibility I think, HSE are involved with large factories, railway stations, hospitals etc.

Report them to the HSE - they will keep your report confidential, and are allowed to make unannounced visits at any time to anyone.

Their contact details are here. You might want to take some photos on your mobiles of the rubbish, blocked doors etc, and note down things like no access to toilets, temps in the office, attempts you have made to ask for improvements etc so that they have a good idea of the things they are going to come in and 'look' for

HSE are responsible for every worker, everywhere btw

I thought the legal minimum working temperature was 15 degrees (unless you're working outside or in freezer/chilled area for food etc).

Would the three of you be willing to 'down tools' so to speak and refuse to work if it was below that?

It might make more of a point if you all refused to work.

Thanks for all your suggestions everyone. The cold is the main issue. Our employer's response to us saying it is too cold is to tell us to wrap up warmer . Last winter the boiler broke and we were without heat for a week and a half! They just don't care - they seem to think we are being pathetic about the cold.

I've looked on HSE's website and it says they are not the governing authority for offices and that we need to contact our local authority.

I'll have a chat with the other girls and see what the concensus is. For now, I'm going to go out for a cigarette - I have a better chance of warming my feet outside than I do in here!

All sounds highly illegal; but I have only ever worked in a big office/construction site, and I have a wee feeling that H&S regs might be less stringent for very small offices. I woul still go to HSE. In my dealings with them (albeit all to do with construction sites) they have been very useful and very discrete.

But foudn this on yahoo too:
4. d Question

Bees Knees Bees Knees

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What is the legal minimum temperature for employyes working in an office?
It is absolutely freezing!! One of my colleagues desktop thermometers is stating 6C.

Im sta with my coat on and Im still freezing.

What is the minimum temp. required and what are my rights if it fails to meet this?? Ive been here since 9am and its not getting any warmer!!!

• 1 year ago

Additional Details
Apparently the heating was broken over the weekend and it has been back on all morning... but its still freezing!

1 year ago

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old.holly265 by old.holl...

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Best Answer - Chosen by Voters
In the UK, the relevant legislation is section 6 of the Offices Shops & Railway Premises Act 1963. The appropriate bits say -
"(2) Where a substantial proportion of the work done in a room to which the foregoing subsection applies does not involve severe physical effort, a temperature of less than 16 degrees Celsius (61F) shall not be deemed, after the first hour, to be a reasonable temperature while work is going on.

(3)...there shall be provided for persons who are employed to work in a room to which... this section would apply, conveniently accessible and effective means of enabling them to warm themselves.

(6)It shall be the duty of the employer of persons for whom means of enabling them to warm themselves are provided in pursuance of subsection (3) of this section to afford them reasonable opportunities for using those means, and if he fails so to do he shall be guilty of an offence."

Please note that NOWHERE in the Act (despite urban mythology to the contrary) does it provide for people to be sent home. This is not a right, although sometimes it is easier for an employer to send people home rather than put up with the problems.

How do you make them sort it? Threaten them with a prosecution or, alternatively, apply for a civil injunction requiring them to comply with the legal duty. The latter could also provide specific compensation as well.

If you have a union, get the reps involved: they should know all about this.

And to save anyone asking, there is no maximum temperature - only a minimum.

The 'best practice' minimum temperature is 16c - this is not a legal requirement. For your employers to request you (or require you) to work at this temperature they would have to have a good reason.

The trip hazards have to be dealt with by your employer. E.g. If you were to trip and cause yourself injury, they could be faced with a costly compensation claim, therefore is financially beneficial for them to sort this now, either by providing rubber ramps whcih sit over cable, or installing more power points. (Health and Safety at Work Act 1974)

No extinguisher or detection systems is actually breaking the law. Under the Regulatory Reform Fire Safety Order 2005 - you employer (or a responsible person) has to ensure that there are detection and suppression systems in place in the event of a fire.
Also the blocked door is a no-no. If this is a fire exit, is must be kept unlocked at all times.

Therre must be some form of reporting in place in case of accidents etc (RIDDOR)

Please get onto the HSE and you H&S Reps if you are in a Union. Your place of work is a risk - and needs to be addressed before something serious happens.

Your company should by law display the HSE's Health & Safety Law Poster.

On the poster is a phone number for you to report any concerns you have about your place of work - you do not have to give your name. The phone number is 0845 345 0055.

Thank you all for your responses - I'm sorry it has taken me so long to reply.

I've spoken to the other two girls in the office and we think we are going to confidentially report them. I tripped over the cables yesterday and banged my arm quite badly and my boss's comment was "well you should have looked where you were going"

They will instantly know that it was one of us who reported them, but we are beyond caring at the moment. It's currently 14 degrees in here and my fingers are frozen.

Good luck - you are doing the right thing. It amazes me the lengths that some employers will go to in order to keep costs down - to the extent of putting their workforce at risk.

Your employer has a duty towards you in terms of your 'health, safety and welfare while you are at work' and seems like they are failing in every aspect! To say to you that you 'should have looked where you were going' is negligent, when it is their responsibility to ensure accidents like that do not happen in the first place.

Keep us posted?

Just an update. We rang the number TidyBush posted and had to go through all of our complaints. They wanted everything - the small things like the uncovered flourescent (sp?) light above my desk to the big things like the lack of smoke detectors. They took all of our names and contact numbers and assured us of confidentiality. They said when they contact employers whose staff have reported them, they tend to say that a concerned member of the public notified them and that they are therefore duty-bound to visit the premises. They then give them 1 week's notice of the visit. So we could possibly see them towards the end of the month.

We'll see...

Well, you've put the wheels in motion which is a good thing...hopefully the inspection will be the kick up the backside your employers need to put things right...fingers crossed.

Thanks for the update ABM - glad the HSE have taken it seriously and hopefully your employers will get their backsides in to gear and start sorting it out before the HSE come down on them like a ton of bricks. Please keep us posted.