New shoes

[Himaggen]

The Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992 govern the provision and use of protective footwear.
The footwear should be robust enough and have sufficient grip for the working environment. It should also be comfortable, flexible to reduce the risk of tiring the feet and legs, capable of absorbing perspiration and if necessary, waterproof.
PPE must be suitable to combat the actual risks involved and the conditions at the place of work where the exposure to the risk may occur. PPE must also take account of any ergonomic requirements and the state of health of those who may wear it. It must be capable of fitting the wearer correctly and it must comply with the relevant British Standard or European Standard.

It is a legal requirement that our footwear is comfortable, fit for purpose and complies with 'the standards'. If the footwear conforms to the Standards then you can only refuse to wear that equipment based upon its size\comfort level.

BS EN ISO 13287:2007 is the Personal Protective Equipment Footwear Test method for slip resistance, it specifies a method of test for the slip resistance of conventionally soled safety, protective and occupational footwear. I haven't got an example box/label in order to verfiy whether or not my footwear has been tested under the Standard, perhaps someone else has this information!

<Edit>
BS EN ISO 13287:2007 superseded BS EN 13287:2004 so just in case our stock was produced a couple of years ago, you may need to verify against the previous Standard.
On the internal, (under tongue), label on my Magnums it states EN ISO 20347 this standard is solely for non toe-capped footwear and its performance for slip resistant is not known unless the relevant information from the test report has been referred in details.
The actual label states EN ISO 20347 0B E FO which is actually EN ISO 20347:0B, E, FO
This is what it means:
(Extract from EN ISO 20347 Table 13)
OB: Basic requirements and an additional requirement from Table 12 for the entire shoe
O1: Closed heel area, antistatic, energy absorbtion capacity in heel area
O2: As O1, additional water penetration and water absorbtion
O3: As O2, additional penetration protection, profile sole
Meanings of additional requirements (symbols)
(Extract from Table 12)
P: Penetration safety
C: Conductive shoes
A: Antistatic shoes
I: Electrically isolating shoes
HI: Heat insulation of sole complex
CI: Cold insulation of sole complex
E: Energy absorbtion capacity in heel area
WR: Water resistance of shoes
AN: Ankle protection
WRU: Water penetration and absorbtion of shoe upper part
HRO: Behaviour of sole with regards to contact heat
FO: Fuel resistance of sole

This also means that our footwear has not been manufactured with specific water absorbtion/resistance capability or cold/heat insulation properties either.
</Edit>

[Captain Scarlet]

Replaced my shoes about 2/3 times in 12 months..... but what ever happened to the new uniform we were told about??
Anyone got those new cargo trousers? cos I have trouble carrying one of those PDA,s in me hand and they go nuts if you put them in dely pouch clicking away all the time then switching themselves off....s*^"e tool to work with, but there is no way I could put one in me clown,s trousers cos they would end up around my ankles!!!!
So does anyone know if/when we all be getting them along with the RED jackets(no mixing in with the public with these)

[NewPostieUK]

I thought we were getting a choice of Doc's or Cats? Apparently they are using up all the Magnums first before issuing these new boots. I'm wearing my own until they give me a decent pair of Docs.

[ar26]

From what I heard Magnum won the new contract but have altered the design of the shoes / boot soles to give more grip in the wet. With regards to the new uniform we've been told it will be late 2010 before anythings issued and then it will be issued to new staff first and exsisting staff will only get the new uniform when they are due new items, ie every 2 years.

[TeeferTiger]

I've had 3 pairs of shoes in a year and I don't even do a full delivery everyday.

The first pair fell apart, the second pair are what caused me to have an AOD due to them having about as much grip on them as an ice cube (and they also let in water like the first pair) and this third pair haven't had much of a test thanks to the aforementioned AOD!

I heard one of the managers in another office ordering new shoes for one of his staff the other week and he was told by the uniform helpline that this was his Xth pair of shoes in a year and he needed to make this pair last 2 years... They really must've been joking. They've obviously never even worn the stuff either.

And the women's trousers are like clown trousers, really tiny waist then they balloon out and taper at the ankles. I had to order 2 sizes too big to get them to fit and now I just order the men's ones. They fit better and don't look as stupid as they don't taper at the bottom and hover above your shoes.

[andy2007]

I'm sure they'll soon change their minds, if we start turning up with our boots held together with insulation tape, like I had to with my last pair.

[POSTMAN]

Its an absolote joke that RM know damn fine the Magnums are downright dangerous in wet and icy condtions yet continue to issue them, I started wearing my own Dr Martens instead but the DOM didn't like it so I had to go back to the Magnums. Pathetic.

http://www.royalmailchat.co.uk/communit ... 28&t=12130" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[bandit650]

In our office peoples boots and shoes are being replaced at a rapid pace most staff are having to stick the sole to the top of the boot or shoe most of the foot ware is under 6 months old.
At some time or other staff have had slips while out on delivery so please don't be fooled that the foot ware has improved because it still has it's problems.
My own pair of boots is a replacement set and i have found that the right boot lets in water while the left boot leeks but not as bad as the right boot.I have also found that the top is peeling in places so that helps the boots to becoming more prone to leeks.
I have seen staff come back from delivery with elastic bands holding the boot/shoe together and a member of staff went into a local shop and bought a tube of superglue to stick it together.Nobody can say that is right.
With regards to being told that our beloved RM will not pay if you have an accident and you are not waring the uniform in it's glory the courts will tell the company they expect RM to follow the letter of the law to the T,they can tell you that but they will have to pay, if the company is found to be supplying uniform that is not fit for the purpose it comes under the liable laws and your managers will not know the law or what they are legally bound to by law i promise.Most managers have not got a clue to what the standard operating procedures are and they only have to look on the intra-net they have even got quick links,do they know how or where-"do they heck as like".
The moral to this little ditty is look up the info,ask the questions, we all have the internet and you can find all the info with regards to the law and what company's will try and get away with even Royal Mail.

[Himaggen]

If you look at my post above, I have shown that the supplied footwear is not adequate for the working environment. Since it is a legal requirement for Royal Mail to provide this they are breaking ther law!

[stokes11eg]

If you look at my post above, I have shown that the supplied footwear is not adequate for the working environment. Since it is a legal requirement for Royal Mail to provide this they are breaking ther law!

Surprise, surprise----and employment legislation--if it can be proved they are breaking the LAW, and are taken to court and found guilty---they then receive a criminal record--this has happened to some employers, again, what are tye Union doing about it?

[andy2007]

That's a good point. But if you want to, you could always report the situation directly to the HSE, on 0845 3450055. They have the resources to investigate your complaints, and issue "improvement notices" if they agree that they're needed. Which if RM doesn't comply, will result in legal action (paid for by HSE).

You can make the complaint anonymously, if you are worried about repercussions at Work. Although both times I had to contact them about something (one before I joined RM, 1 about RM), I gave my name. Because I thought it would emphasise how serious I thought the incidents were.

[stokes11eg]

That's a good point. But if you want to, you could always report the situation directly to the HSE, on 0845 3450055. They have the resources to investigate your complaints, and issue "improvement notices" if they agree that they're needed. Which if RM doesn't comply, will result in legal action (paid for by HSE).

You can make the complaint anonymously, if you are worried about repercussions at Work. Although both times I had to contact them about something (one before I joined RM, 1 about RM), I gave my name. Because I thought it would emphasise how serious I thought the incidents were.

I personally would not have any problems giving my name, in fact. about two or three years ago, prior to the Magnums we had a spell when nobody was allowed to order any new uniforms..this resulted in many of us walking round with shoes falling apart. Our health and safety rep, took photos of all our rotten footwear and sent copies to H.S.E. and Managers---thankfully. I no longer need to wear the company issue, but isn't it sad when people have to fear repercussions
from Manageres just for asking for their rights?

[bandit650]

That's a good point. But if you want to, you could always report the situation directly to the HSE, on 0845 3450055. They have the resources to investigate your complaints, and issue "improvement notices" if they agree that they're needed. Which if RM doesn't comply, will result in legal action (paid for by HSE).

You can make the complaint anonymously, if you are worried about repercussions at Work. Although both times I had to contact them about something (one before I joined RM, 1 about RM), I gave my name. Because I thought it would emphasise how serious I thought the incidents were.

I personally would not have any problems giving my name, in fact. about two or three years ago, prior to the Magnums we had a spell when nobody was allowed to order any new uniforms..this resulted in many of us walking round with shoes falling apart. Our health and safety rep, took photos of all our rotten footwear and sent copies to H.S.E. and Managers---thankfully. I no longer need to wear the company issue, but isn't it sad when people have to fear repercussions
from Manageres just for asking for their rights?

Well said we have had health and safety in and we gave our names in fact it was almost funny seeing them all getting in a lather about it,so far we have had health and safety,the fire inspection staff in very nice people ,very helpful and we have the fire officers number so we can get advice when we need to.

[mickram]

hi guys, im new to this forum & have had problems with the dodgy Magnum shoes. I am currently off work sick with a back injury suffered as a result of a slip in January. I know there was a letter published in the courier a couple of months ago about these shoes but i have binned that copy. Does anybody have a copy of the issue with that letter in as i seem to recall that the person in charge of uniform almost admitted that they were not up to standard. I am obviouly trying to claim for my injury but need something to back up my complaint about the shoes. I would appreciate any help anybody could give me. My email address is ymick60@hotmail.com
Thanks
Mick

[andy2007]

I don't have a copy of the article. But assuming you have the old type Magnums, these should be useful: http://www.royalmailchat.co.uk/communit ... =28&t=8727" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; and http://www.royalmailchat.co.uk/communit ... =28&t=9188" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

They contain details of the campaign to have them changed, because of the number of accidents attributed to the old design Magums. And our comments about them. Thankfully, the new ones seem to be a lot better. But that doesn't help all those who still have the old ones. They should have recalled them, as soon as the new ones became available. But that's too much like common sense!