Section 44 of the employment act 1996

[ViperF]

Hi,

Am I within my rights to use section 44 of the 1996 employment act and refuse to post letters in the dark?

I think a small torch is inadequate.

https://section44.co.uk/?fbclid=IwAR0uP ... XLOw8wQUIE

[Woody Guthrie]

No.
What you're allowed to do is make an individual assessment of everywhere you go whether it's light or dark and decide for yourself whether it is safe.

We have delivered in the dark before however I would say that the street lighting has changed from the old low pressure sodium orange lights to LED which tends to light up a smaller area leaving gardens dark so it maybe warrants a fresh risk assessment.

Perhaps it would give Dave Joyce at the health and safety department another opportunity to write a book?

[SpacePhoenix]

We have delivered in the dark before however I would say that the street lighting has changed from the old low pressure sodium orange lights to LED which tends to light up a smaller area leaving gardens dark so it maybe warrants a fresh risk assessment.

It depends on the head the street light has, I think a good few locally have had a "masking plate" added to stop them shining into people's windows. Some councils turn down the brightness of certain street lights between certain hours.

[broughts]

We have delivered in the dark before but in those days it was getting lighter by the minute once it’s dark that’s it and temperature drops as well won’t catch me out in the dark not worth the risk

[geordieboy123]

Hi,

Am I within my rights to use section 44 of the 1996 employment act and refuse to post letters in the dark?

I think a small torch is inadequate.

https://section44.co.uk/?fbclid=IwAR0uP ... XLOw8wQUIE

Yes, if you think it’s a risk to your health and safety then don’t do it

[woofwoof]

Would this not effect collections more

[beanmuncha]

No your not within your rights.
Section 44 states in brief "in circumstances of danger which the employee reasonably believed to be serious and imminent and which he could not reasonably have been expected to avert,"
Delivering in the dark would not be counted as imminent danger as you should take normal precautions, like wearing hi-vis clothing and using a torch.
You can assess each delivery point and decide if it is safe to deliver or not, then you can refuse on each point, but not just generally.