Wanda Assignment 4th Version 7 Dec 10

8/3/2019 Wanda Assignment 4th Version 7 Dec 10

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Student No:

Faculty of Professional Studies

Human Resources Management in

ContextASSIGNMENT 2

Health & Safety issues at Caffe Nero

TVU December 2010


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Table of contents :

- Introduction

- Legal Issues The work place regulations ( Health, safety and

welfare)(1992) The management of health and safety at work(1999) Health and safety at work (etc) Act (1974)

Employment sick pay

- Procedural issues ( Seriousness of the incident)

- Incident Report stages ( Reporting R.I.D.D.O.R )- Causes Of slip and Trip Accidents ( Risk of the accident

model)

- Conclusion & Recommendation

- Bibliography and References


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Introduction:

In this report I will advis e Caff Neros Managers on Legal Issues andprocedures following a recent Slip and Trip accident at one of their branches.We are going to cover in this report relevant legislation which concerns theinjured staff and also the cafe manager. Once we have identified (Covered) therelevant part of the legislation, I will be in a better position to assess thesituation and therefore enabling me to advise on what procedural methods toconsider on the above case.

According to Berrymans Lace Mawer, 35,000 Slip and Trip incidents occur inthe UK each year, of those, more than 25,000 result in people being absentfrom work for more than 3 days and 50% of accidents are caused by poorhousekeeping.

1.1 Key Issues:1.2 Legal Issues:

Legislation acts:

Caffe Neros incident includes the practicality of two issues: Legal and Procedural: I will be looking to discuss the different legislations thatprotect employees in a situation of health & safety, which will helpemployees and employers, thus enabling them to understand theirrights and obligations to the law.

The workplace (Health, safety and welfare) Regulations Act (1992)

The Regulations ensure that people in a management position willprovide employees with a suitable working environment condition thatis productive of work activities and is free of obstruction on theworkplace premises. The above legislation will cover conditions of theworkplace such as: Equipment, workstation, lightening, sanitary and


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welfare provision, enough room and space to move around. Under theregulations, employer must also make suitable welfare facilities foremployees. That includes people with learning disabilities.

The Health & Safety at work Act (1974)

This over arching Act requires that employers must ensure the safety of employees and anyone else who could be affected by their work forexample, members of the public, or visitors etc.

Therefore slip & trip risks must be controlled to ensure that incidents areeduced to a minimum or eradicated completely.

Employees are required to use any safety equipment provided and mustnot to cause danger to themselves or others. On Caffe Neros case, aquestion may be asked whether the waitresss accident was due to thelack of knowledge of safety equipment provided by the employer.

The Management of Health & Safety at Work Regulations (Act

1999)The Regulations require an employer to identify hazards and assess andcontrol risks including those around slips and trips. They must ensurewhere and whenever necessary actions needs to be taken to safeguardhealth & safety. Employers must also provide relevant training to itsemployees and judging by the above case, the waitresses could havebeen doing a summer job while on holiday therefore it would classify as

a temporary job and also she could have been as young as 15 years old(Under age), and the law states very clear that people within thecategory above are vulnerable therefore relevant training needs to beprovided in order to demonstrate to them the necessary measures of risk control.

Another thing we must take into consideration is the fact that thewaitresses could have been in her early days of pregnancy and may not

have informed her employer. However, by the provision of adequate


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and suitable training Caffe Neo could have fulfilled their requirement toprovide training to all employees.

Taking all the above into consideration, the questions to ask is: Was the

waitresses to young and inexperienced? In one way or other questionshas to be asked, because its the employers duty to manage theemployees safety. The act above states that employees have the legalduty to report any Hazard or accident that may lead to illness or causedanger, as it happened in the Caffe Neros case. The employer needs tobe notified in order to make the necessary safety arrangements. In theevent of breach of this act, it could lead to legal action being takenagainst the employer under the (Health& Safety Offences Act (2008)

Employment Sick Pay

Most people who are ill and have been ill for 4 consecutive days areentitled to Sick pay providing he/she is over 16 and under 65. Based onthese facts, we would say that the waitresss fits this category; she isentitling to sick pay even if shes in a probation period. Be aware thatdifferent employers have different types of contract. Therefore sick pay

may vary.

Types of sick pay:

Statutory sick pay and Contractual sick pay

The waitress will NOT be able to claim any sick pay if a) She has beenworking within a 3 month probation period. b) If shes a new employeeand has not done any work under contract. By law shes required to

provide evidence of injury/medical information as its compulsory forrecord and auditor purposes even if the manager and barista witnessedthe accident. Continuity of payment if not stipulated in the contractmay have an implied contract term. Therefore it will need to beaddress by the employer.

Procedural Issues:


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Seriousness of the accident :

Caffe Nero needs to understand first of all how severe or how seriousthe accident was. As medical advice suggests, the waitress has suffered a

complicated broken wrist, as a result of the slip & trip on a spillage, andas a result of it, the waitress will have to take even more time off of work than the prior 3 weeks.

The fact that Caffe Nero did not have an effective Health & Safetymanagement procedure in place, as the Health and Safety Executive

states, we can therefore assume that Caffe Nero is in breach of itsobligations. Guidance from the Health and Safety Executive states that:The workplace requires floor to be suitable, in good conditions and

free from obstructions. People should be able to move around s afely

Referring to the Health, Safety & Welfare Regulations (1992) It hasbecome apparent that the risk management at the cafe is very poor andtherefore does not meet what is requires by the Regulations above. Working safely is first of all a management responsibility; i ts themanagement duty to ensure safety of its employees and also the safetyof the public. In Caffe Nero s situation, we could safely assume that therisks was not acknowledged by the member of staff, and in this case theCafs duty Ma nager and barrista did witness the spillage and turned ablind eye to it instead of acting immediately . As a result, an accidenthappened and therefore the Duty of Care was not provided to themembers of the public and also to the staff.

Caffe Nero should have an implemented safety management systemwhich would help identify areas of which problems may arise within thepremises. All incidents should be recorded and each one provides theemployer with an opportunity to improve their safety systems.


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More often than not, incidents like slip and trip are usually caused bythe lack of management and awareness of preventive measures. Seebelow a list of facts that contributes to accidents at work.

- Using measures which are not correct and also not taking the risks

seriously

- Lack of management control and risk assessments- Not monitoring regularly slip and trip hazards at work- Employees not being trained accordingly to deal with Health and

safety at work.

Incident Report Stages

Reporting R.I.D.D.O.R

In order to compile a report for investigations, taking into considerationthe severity of the slip & Trip at Caffe Nero, its important to gatherthe right information.

By law, its required that specific types of accident should be reported

underThe Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and dangerous OccurrencesRegulations otherwise known as (RIDDOR) (1995)

This report is sent to the Health and Safety Executive who may decide toprosecute. However even incidents which are not reportable should beinvestigated to identify measures to prevent recurrence.

Its advised to take down eye witness statements that were present atthe scene of the accident. For example the Childs parents who allegedspilled the drink, the barista and the duty manager; this will improve theaccuracy of the report. It will also be valid information when contactingthe incident contact centre (ICC) whom will make a record of theincident and review the level of risk, which in turn will be passed on tothe relevant enforcing authority.


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Stage 1 Reporting the Incident

The caffe is required by law to keep an Employee Accident Book

Due to the waitress having to take more than 3 consecutive days off work, its than required to fill in the F2508- R.I.D.D.O.R. FORM

Stage 2 Contacting the HSE Authority

Caffe Neros manager is by law responsible for reporting the incident tothe ICC, either by phone or by e-mail, so that they can assess the

severity of the incident.

As mentioned before, should a law case arises; remember that theaccident book and the internal report will be used in the investigationprocess.

Causes of Slip and Trip accidents

A customers child spilled the orange juice on the floor where

the waitress slipped and fell. Even though that was whatcaused the accident, there are some other factors that alsohave been underlying causes.

- Floor Material ( I still need to do this part)- Behaviour As above- Footwear As above


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Conclusion & Recommendations

Recommendation

In light of the findings on the waitress slip & trip accident we would

recommend that Caffe Neros should ensure that the following are inplace:

1. They should consistently conduct risk assessments prior toemployees starting the work. For example on the first day of work

2. Ensure that they are aware of their incident and injury reportingrequirement and ensure that procedural reports are in place withan easy access to the employees.

3. Ensure that Health & Safety induction training is provided for allthe workers, whether they are permanent or temporary staff. Atthe caffe they should pay particular attention to slip & trips, andfocus on how they can be avoided. Training should bedocumented on site to ensure accurate records are maintained forfuture references.

4. Good housekeeping should be maintained to help minimize slipand trip hazards.


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Slippery floors are a common hazard at any workplace.Its oftenmissed as a hazard. According to HSE, over a third of all majorsinjuries reported every year are as a result of slip & Trip.

Furthermore, over 95% of over 3 days absence of work is due as aresult of Slips, Trip and falls.

Companies needs to be aware that more than ever, employees are

suing their employers for the slightes thing. They are very awarethat the law is on their side.

Ensuring that employees are involved on the day to day problems

regarding h&s

Contamination and

obstacles

Documents

Wanda Assignment 4th Version 7 Dec 10