Help and Advice from a Rep please!

Post by **hayley** » 12 Oct 2007, 15:26

Hi,

I'm looking for some advice for a friend. He's in serious trouble I think. He's already on a two year serious warning on the conduct code because he broke a computer screen at work. Now he's being done for disregard of health and safety at work and for work collegues health and safety because him and his mate were having a bit of a joke.

It's a long running joke about who's going to get out of the building first. Anyway, in work one night there had been an area of the car park cordoned off. They ended up moving the cones and parking in the cordoned off area, then they were parking their cars in front of one another so it was parked in the 'clearway' as the manager said. They were blocking off the exit to the car park (which is no big deal, it was 4.30am and we leave work at 5am!) But the management are saying that if we'd had an emergency at the building then the emergency services would not have been able to take the quickest route to the building.

I'm completely and utterly stuck - please help!!

Thanks!

Post by **dvbuk55** » 12 Oct 2007, 15:38

hayley wrote:Hi,

I'm looking for some advice for a friend. He's in serious trouble I think. He's already on a two year serious warning on the conduct code because he broke a computer screen at work. Now he's being done for disregard of health and safety at work and for work collegues health and safety because him and his mate were having a bit of a joke.

It's a long running joke about who's going to get out of the building first. Anyway, in work one night there had been an area of the car park cordoned off. They ended up moving the cones and parking in the cordoned off area, then they were parking their cars in front of one another so it was parked in the 'clearway' as the manager said. They were blocking off the exit to the car park (which is no big deal, it was 4.30am and we leave work at 5am!) But the management are saying that if we'd had an emergency at the building then the emergency services would not have been able to take the quickest route to the building.

I'm completely and utterly stuck - please help!!Thanks

Presumably the "emergency" would have had to be identified in order for the emergency services to be notified - therefore although technically they had breached H & S guidelines - it was not of a permanent nature and would have been rectified immediately. As for the warning about the computer screen it is a totally unrelated occurrence. It would however be interesting to see what the 2 year warning was issued for.

Post by **hayley** » 12 Oct 2007, 15:42

Thanks for the advice.

The 2 year warning was issued because he threw a sweet - fox's mint, they're really hard! and it hit the screen and it cracked and went funny. So he was done for Wilful damage of company property.

Post by **dvbuk55** » 12 Oct 2007, 17:39

hayley wrote:Thanks for the advice.

The 2 year warning was issued because he threw a sweet - fox's mint, they're really hard! and it hit the screen and it cracked and went funny. So he was done for Wilful damage of company property.

Right in that case they are two separate incidents not remotely connected. In this instance it was a breach of H & S, had he been warned for sweet incident as endangering his colleagues because he threw a hard sweet they would have been connected. You should make the Manager deal with this as a separate issue.

Really the case would rest on whether or not the area had been deliberately coned off, they knew it had and a notice displaying the reason. It could for example have been a prank. If the area was usually used for parking then the barrier could have been temporary and no longer in use.

Post by **hayley** » 12 Oct 2007, 18:06

they've already been in for one of those fact finding things and he was asked if he knew why the area was cordoned off and he said for health bus, we all knew about it.

The barrier I mean is the one that lets us in and out of the car park, its the only way we can get out and could never be mistaken for temporary.

HELP!!!

Post by **hayley** » 12 Oct 2007, 18:07

and i should add that all actions have been caught on cctv which management are using as evidence.

Post by **dvbuk55** » 12 Oct 2007, 19:01

Am I missing something?

Did they park in the cordoned off area after moving the cones or in front of the permanent barrier used for security. Despite the fact that it was a prank would you consider that it was a safety issue or would your H&S Rep think so?

Post by **hayley** » 14 Oct 2007, 20:02

they did both of the things you've mentioned...he parked in an area he knew had been cordoned off for a reason and then he blocked the barrier which would have made it harder for emergency staff to get through... any help is gratefully received!

i suppose it is H&S but it didn't occur to him at the time...

buzzard · Post by **buzzard** » 14 Oct 2007, 21:09

it does appear a h+s issue but really all it needs is a manager with a little common sense to have a quiet word in his ear not to do something like that again, hardly seems like a sacking offence. also if they had a fact finding interview he should have been offered to take a rep in with him as a witness.

k979aaa · Post by **k979aaa** » 14 Oct 2007, 21:43

hayley wrote:Thanks for the advice.

The 2 year warning was issued because he threw a sweet - fox's mint, they're really hard! and it hit the screen and it cracked and went funny. So he was done for Wilful damage of company property.

It's just a pity the fox's mint didn't hit the manger on the head and knock some sense in him.

Big Daz · Post by **Big Daz** » 15 Oct 2007, 06:11

If you already have a CC warning and you get another CC interview then the current record is taken into account in determing the penalty for the new offence.

Post by **hayley** » 15 Oct 2007, 15:38

Thanks for all the advice.

I know his current CC record will be taken into account, but another problem has raised it's head. When he threw the mint I'm sure the charge was Wilful Damage of Company Property, but now on all the information for his next interview it says on his CC that he was charged with 'H&S' it doesn't say anything else other than that and like dvbuk55 said earlier - it should be treated as a sepreate incident as they're not related!

I was going to bring up the point in the interview (Tuesday 16th Oct at 7pm) that they're not related up, the difference he's trying to make to his workplace as he's a first line fix rep, his good stats (not attendance cuz he's on a stage 2)...what do you think? Is that ok or should I do something differently? Or add something in?

Thank you again!

ROYALMAILCHAT

Help and Advice from a Rep please!

Help and Advice from a Rep please!

Re: Help and Advice from a Rep please!