Managers refusal to make office safe

[guardianangel]

Who do you go too when managers do not take your health and safety concerns seriously because it will cost time and the health and safety rep doesn't want to get involved in case he upsets management,A serious accident is waiting to happen which i have documented .

[ssdd]

What's the issue?

[guardianangel]

Wouldn't like to say on here as they would know what office, just need a contact for formal complaint maybe health and safety exec outside of Royal Mail.

[Norfolk 'N' Chance]

Having read your concern, I certainly would push on with your request for action as the regulator (HSE) and the courts take a very dim view of "Managers" who by their very position are in an elevated position of responsibility, ignoring their statutory duties.

Without knowing any of the detail about the actual situation, it would appear from what you describe that the manager that you have raised this concern with is not fully aware of his personal legal and moral obligations. In my previous career in a former nationalised industry (now privatised) I have come across many managers with a similar cavalier attitude to safety.

What the majority of them dont realise is that while the company is vicariously liable for all employees at work, they can still be personally prosecuted for "their own acts and omisions"

Section 7.0 of HASAWA 1974 is very clear on this - "It shall be the duty of employee while at work, to take reasonable care for the health and safety of himself and of other persons who may be affected by his acts or omissions at work.

Failing to act appropriately to a concern of an employee is a Management failing.

By ignoring your request regarding the hazard/the dangerous situation, the manager is exposing himself to a potential 6momths prison sentence or £20,000 fine if prosecuted and found guilty.

Apologies if you were already aware of this, I am trying to assist and am just highlighting the facts in order to help.

Currently I dont work for RM, but am awaiting to hear if my application was sucessful or not. That aside, I am concerned if this is indicative of the wider safety culture within RM? - as its certainly worrying that the safety representative is not interested and is also turning a blind eye. At the very least i would have thought that he/she would be tabling your concern/hazard report at the next safety reps/management meeting, supporting you and you fellow workers in requesting that it is addressed without delay. - I am of course assuming that these meetings take place, but maybe thats another can of worms?

If we go up a level to a higher duty in HASWA then Section 2 places a global responsibility on the company and everyone working in it;

(1)It shall be the duty of every employer to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of all his employees.

(2)Without prejudice to the generality of an employer’s duty under the preceding subsection, the matters to which that duty extends include in particular—

(a)the provision and maintenance of plant and systems of work that are, so far as is reasonably practicable, safe and without risks to health;

(b)arrangements for ensuring, so far as is reasonably practicable, safety and absence of risks to health in connection with the use, handling, storage and transport of articles and substances;

(c)the provision of such information, instruction, training and supervision as is necessary to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety at work of his employees;

(d)so far as is reasonably practicable as regards any place of work under the employer’s control, the maintenance of it in a condition that is safe and without risks to health and the provision and maintenance of means of access to and egress from it that are safe and without such risks;

(e)the provision and maintenance of a working environment for his employees that is, so far as is reasonably practicable, safe, without risks to health, and adequate as regards facilities and arrangements for their welfare at work.

So for what its worth, heres what I would do - For your own protection, photograph the situation/hazard etc if possible. If your coworkers/teammates are not already aware speak to them so that they know what the issue/danger is. If possible can you do anything at the point of the physical location to control the hazard/danger in any way? Even a simple homemade sign or some caution tape may help (im guessing its more serious and needs bigger engineering controls, but if the s**t hits the fan, you can stand up in court and say I did all that I could). Report the defect/hazard/dangerous condition via whatever RM process there is available. Write down your concern in a brief factual summary and pass it to your manager asking that he formally acknowledges the situation. Similarly give a copy of the summary to the union/safety rep and ask that this matter be tabled at the next safety meeting.

If there is no action then send your report to the RM Safety dept. Whilst you can report the matter to the HSE, in my experience whilst they will take it seriously they will want to know what steps you have taken to try to solve the problem.

I do hope this helps and i appreciate that as an outsider looking in maybe my interpretation is over simplified. However although im looking for a simple part time postie role, I do happen to have an MSc in Occupational Safety and worked for over 30 years in a safety critical industry.

Best of luck mate

[POSTMAN]

Who do you go too when managers do not take your health and safety concerns seriously because it will cost time and the health and safety rep doesn't want to get involved in case he upsets management,A serious accident is waiting to happen which i have documented .

Try...
Whistle blowing : Royal Mail speak up

[guardianangel]

Thankyou for your replies ,and in my years at Royal Mail they talk a good job but when it costs time and money they turn a blind eye.
Thanks again .Everything is in motion.

[Norfolk 'N' Chance]

Thankyou for your replies ,and in my years at Royal Mail they talk a good job but when it costs time and money they turn a blind eye.
Thanks again .Everything is in motion.

Good H&S is good business sense, why is this not being driven down from the top. The costs of dealing with this problem are going to be a lost less that the cost and impact of an accident. For optimum results RM should be spending 1% of turnover on safety improvements if it wants to become leading edge. Ive seen first hand how a culture change can really make a difference, local managers and staff need to be empowered and targets set on a more of a balanced scorecard approach where proactive and reactive H&S measures are continually measured.

Having dealt with a number of fatalities in my time, I can tell you they are far from pleasant and its amazing how much of a budget can be found to try and fight the claim/prosecution once its too late.

I sincerely hope that someone takes ownership of this issue and implements the necessary controls to remove the risk, or at least reduce it to a tolerable level. Please keep us updated on any progress.

[yellowbelly]

Good H&S is good business sense, why is this not being driven down from the top. The costs of dealing with this problem are going to be a lost less that the cost and impact of an accident. For optimum results RM should be spending 1% of turnover on safety improvements if it wants to become leading edge. Ive seen first hand how a culture change can really make a difference, local managers and staff need to be empowered and targets set on a more of a balanced scorecard approach where proactive and reactive H&S measures are continually measured.

Having dealt with a number of fatalities in my time, I can tell you they are far from pleasant and its amazing how much of a budget can be found to try and fight the claim/prosecution once its too late.

I sincerely hope that someone takes ownership of this issue and implements the necessary controls to remove the risk, or at least reduce it to a tolerable level. Please keep us updated on any progress.

Norfolk, concur with all you say, I similarly performed a H&S role before I joined RM and it was taken seriously.
But unless you are in a very good office you will find that on a day to day basis there are multiple, frequent
low level breaches of H&S. Most instances are due to poor management and pressure on the grass roots postie
to 'get the job done'.

I joined a city centre office, large building, multiple floors, many staff, vehicle yard and what H&S briefing
did I get? Nothing, no fire safety briefing, no evacuation procedure training, no manual handling training,
nothing. Still not had any some years later. Never seen any risk assessments, no fire training, the list
is endless.