Health and safety 'excuses' mocked by HSE
The Health and Safety Executive has released a list of comic excuses used by Britain's jobsworths in the name of health and safety.
All good managers know that slacking when it comes to health and safety in the workplace is a big no-no.
Providing employees with personal protective equipment (PPE) such as eye and ear protection can be vital in ensuring they can carry out their work without fear of damage to their eyesight or hearing.
However, some people use health and safety as a cover-all excuse to justify certain situations in their place of work, according to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
They organisation's Myth Busters Challenge Panel aims to provide advice to those who feel let down by councils, employers, insurance companies and other entities which have cited health and safety as a reason for things being the way they are.
Over 200 cases have been reported to the panel since its launch in April 2012, with the majority of those having been examples of inappropriate use of health and safety as an excuse.
Myths included a DIY store refusing to help a customer cut a length of timber he had bought there, a hotel which refused to provide toilet brushes and a parasol being banned from a racecourse - all on the grounds of supposed health and safety.
"It's time businesses and others stopped hiding behind health and safety when the simple truth is that they are either jobsworths or giving poor customer service," said employment minister Mark Hoban.
"Their attitude gives health and safety a bad name and it undermines good health and safety which keeps people safe and enables them to enjoy the summer."
Meanwhile, businesses which use acetylene might be interested to know that the HSE is currently consulting on proposed new regulations to govern the use of the hydrocarbon.
Written by Chris Malone
