OGR reported on the What Have You Done Today thread that his grandson's school has banned conkers on health and safety grounds. That to me is a clear sign that Britain has finally gone bonkers. My local pub landlord won't grit his car park in winter cos he reckons it'll make him liable for any crashes in it. Just crazy. I worked on a site recently where I had to wear a hard hat with visor and ear defenders, hi-viz, safety boots and gloves - nothing unusual in that, except the site was a hotel and it was open for business... Britain has gone Health and Safety mad, and it's really worrying me. How the hell we're still allowed to ride motorbikes or horses is beyond me. Whatever happened to good old common sense? My mate has gone from a crane driver to a building site manager in the last few years, and has now been fully assimilated by planet H&S, constantly spouting off rules and regs. I nearly punched him the other day, but I wasn't wearing the right gloves...:frown: What have we done to deserve this? Do we deserve it? And what can we do to stop it?
One of my best friends is a project manager for building the stadiums in Doha. He's probably just having the shit workers bumped off to save severance pay
I must add it's for the 2022, estimate 4000 will die, I went to a H&S seminar last week, it wasn't fun
What's that got to do with Blighty? I see what you're saying, but it's hardly comparable, different races with a totally different attitude to life.
What's even worse is you're f*cken exporting it too!, I work for a large Dairy manufacturing company, they have gone H&S mad, and the H&S management/implementation personnel from the top down to middle management, the majority are Poms
You have to stop the US compensation culture OK no ones sued over here for serving free peanuts ,,,, yet
That's the bottom line. No-one gives a flying fuck about our safety, they're just worried about being sued.
Nail on the head here. The stupidness of H&S has got out of control in this country. It's due to companies not wanting to be sued. I spoke to a bin collector earlier this week and asked him about his hi-viz jacket... All bollox!!!
Back in 2009 Dave said he would end all this madness Whats happened since they came to power, absolutely sod all, as usually and as with all modern politicians, he makes a speech and thinks he's acheived something.
That's really what it comes down to, although I do care about the safety of my staff. I don't want to earn a living out of someone else's misfortune. Last year one of my staff used the wrong saw to carry out an operation. The correct equipment was available and working, but he chose to do the job incorrectly. He then operated the incorrect saw incorrectly, lifting a safety guard to make his job easier, and then when the saw jammed up due to incorrect operation he went to shut it down, incorrectly, and the piece of wood he was working on fired backwards and broke his thumb. He was off work for 3 months. I had to carry out a full investigation, report the incident under RIDDOR, and he got to sue the company. My insurance company settled for £5000 + £2500 loss of earnings out of court. My insurance premium went up by £900 this is year. H&S is there to protect the employer as much as the employee. However the loss adjuster told me that there is so much legislation that an employer has to follow that it would be almost impossible to win against a claim. They almost always settle out of court.
For years self preservation seemed to work fairly well. Okay yes, working in the mines was pretty flipping harsh, but seeing as they're all closed now.....
I thought it was there to ensure we all get to go home in the same condition as we arrived in the morning Why should I go to work and then come home missing a limb? I had a driver that used to come to my plant who didn't want to wear a high vis vest, every time he got out his cab, I told the guy on numerous occasions that he should wear one, he never understood that it was for his own safety, he always said 'h&s bollocks this or another' Some people will never understand that it's to protect them, I kicked him off site eventually PPE should be the last line of defence, the danger shouldn't be there in the first place in my opinion
This is one of the more infamous claims originating in the USA, which probably encouraged Joe Public to believe that there is no such thing as a "no blame" accident, and that someone has to pay. Liebeck v. McDonald's Restaurants - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Faced with claims of this magnitude, insurers expect high levels of safety and more importantly, the ability to demonstrate this to the satisfaction of the court - not always easy. If you ever watch daytime tv, you'll spot the "no win no fee" solicitors flogging their services as an altruistic service to the underdogs. It is not uncommon for their fees to far exceed any damages awarded or agreed upon to the claimant. Accidents cost employers as well as employees, and it's in everyone's interests to work safely. Sure, the negligent and cost cutting employers deserve all they get, but the current burden on employers makes it so easy for the sharks of the legal world to claim that because there isn't a written risk assessment for serving coffee, the company is at fault and must pay.
So he didn't die under the wheels of a lorry then..? Fancy that. Safety at work will be improved by good training and safe working practises. PPE is the lazy way out for employers.
If you want to mess somebody about, interfere with somebody's life, and take away somebody's freedom of action, one common way of doing it is falsely to claim "health & safety" as a justification. H&S trumps all other considerations, allegedly. The Health and Safety Executive spends a lot of its time denying that various daft rules people have imposed have anything to do with H&S. HSE: Information about health and safety at work
