Employer refuses to remove ice and snow from carpark
Discussion
As above really, my employer refused to remove any snow and ice from the carpark in order to prevent trip/fall claims.
Their thinking is that if they remove the snow as best they can and some still falls they would be open to claims but leaving it to melt by itself the onus is on the employee rather than the employer.
Can this be right, surely they have a duty of care to reduce all hazards. After a couple of nights of below zero temperatures and cars compacting the surface Torvill and Dean could easily perform the bolero on it.
Their thinking is that if they remove the snow as best they can and some still falls they would be open to claims but leaving it to melt by itself the onus is on the employee rather than the employer.
Can this be right, surely they have a duty of care to reduce all hazards. After a couple of nights of below zero temperatures and cars compacting the surface Torvill and Dean could easily perform the bolero on it.
Marlin45 said:
They have been listening to too many 'blokes mate said - down the pub'. Pile of cods! They are more likely to suffer a claim because they have knowingly left site in a dangerous state?
Basically this, if I clear the path outside my house and some numbskull falls over, nothing to do with me.It's actually listed on the HSE.gov.uk website as a hoax.
Somewhere in the archives here...
http://www.hse.gov.uk/myth/myth-busting/2012/index...
Somewhere in the archives here...
http://www.hse.gov.uk/myth/myth-busting/2012/index...
Right or wrong I don't know but my employer asked us not to salt car parks and paths. Reason being we are seen to have taken responsibility for it and if It's not completely clear were open to a case of being incompetent in our actions. Also people become less aware of the potential of ice assuming its gone thus raising the chance of a fall.
kwitBFG TERRANO said:
Right or wrong I don't know but my employer asked us not to salt car parks and paths. Reason being we are seen to have taken responsibility for it and if It's not completely clear were open to a case of being incompetent in our actions. Also people become less aware of the potential of ice assuming its gone thus raising the chance of a fall.
It's their land. It is an access route. They are responsible 
http://blog.lblaw.co.uk/ice-what-duty-do-we-owe-ou...
http://www.iosh.co.uk/groups/retail_and_distributi...
edit: basically a common sense approach, not burying your head in the sand (or grit).
http://www.iosh.co.uk/groups/retail_and_distributi...
edit: basically a common sense approach, not burying your head in the sand (or grit).
OP, Your employers thinking may be wrong but why should he clear the carpark in the first place, he doesn't have to provide you somewhere to park and could if he wanted just close it.
If the case is that its his car park then he is liable for any accident, does that mean I can sue the local council for slipping over on compacted snow which was thrown onto the path by the snow plough and breaking my wrist.
The answer is for society to stop being greedy and trying to blame someone else for what are truly accidents. Don't get me wrong a gift of a couple of grand at the moment would be lovly but to attempt to claim it would just feel wrong.
If the case is that its his car park then he is liable for any accident, does that mean I can sue the local council for slipping over on compacted snow which was thrown onto the path by the snow plough and breaking my wrist.
The answer is for society to stop being greedy and trying to blame someone else for what are truly accidents. Don't get me wrong a gift of a couple of grand at the moment would be lovly but to attempt to claim it would just feel wrong.
My OH went to the doctors for a midwife appointment on Tuesday and there is a long slope up to the doors. She is 31 weeks pregnant and made her way up the slope. No handrail was on offer and she nearly fell over several times until a man passing by offered to help her.
It was midwife visiting day meaning there would be a lot of pregnant ladies there that day but when she questioned it at reception, they said they could not clear it as they then claimed responsibility (?) and were liable.
Ridiculous world we live in.
It was midwife visiting day meaning there would be a lot of pregnant ladies there that day but when she questioned it at reception, they said they could not clear it as they then claimed responsibility (?) and were liable.
Ridiculous world we live in.
Donatello said:
It was midwife visiting day meaning there would be a lot of pregnant ladies there that day but when she questioned it at reception, they said they could not clear it as they then claimed responsibility (?) and were liable.
The article above (http://blog.lblaw.co.uk/ice-what-duty-do-we-owe-our-visitors-164/) suggests the opposite.Poor understanding of H&S legislation is the main cause of these issues. A common sense approach is normally the correct one.
As noted above, the legal approach is that you do not get penalised for trying to be helpful, by, for example clearing snow and ice. Indeed, leaving the snow and ice on your premises enhances your risk as an occupier. The idea that if you take any action you thereby enhance your risk is nonsense, based on half understood urban mythical American cases and dodgy H and S people falling asleep at training courses.
File in the same bin as "passing doctor cannot assist person who has been run over because of risk of being sued".
File in the same bin as "passing doctor cannot assist person who has been run over because of risk of being sued".
Davel said:
We have a 7.5 acre Industrial Estate here.
How the bloody hell could we salt it all and get rid of every bit of snow and ice.
We all know that it's slippery and tread / drive accordingly.
No one here has complained...
same as a number of organisations i've seen you get a small trailed spreader and someone toes it round the roads and main bits of the car parks gritting as they go...How the bloody hell could we salt it all and get rid of every bit of snow and ice.
We all know that it's slippery and tread / drive accordingly.
No one here has complained...
Davel said:
We have a 7.5 acre Industrial Estate here.
How the bloody hell could we salt it all and get rid of every bit of snow and ice.
We all know that it's slippery and tread / drive accordingly.
No one here has complained...
The company I work for, hire a road gritter in every few nights and has a contractor come round and salt the paths and walkways, plus they've got a plow attachment for one of the forklifts to clear any excess snow.How the bloody hell could we salt it all and get rid of every bit of snow and ice.
We all know that it's slippery and tread / drive accordingly.
No one here has complained...
Gassing Station | Jobs & Employment Matters | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff