Un protected staff at Jewellers

[jewellerjim]

Really need some help here. Work in jewellers - 9-5 no lunch hour. Main shop 2 staff at all times ( hence no lunch hour ) smaller branches - one person all day no lunch hour, one shop no CCTV. One small shop got held up in October - still being expected to cover alone which i am not happy about - boss not prepared to increase security and other staff have managed to wangle out of covering. No health and safety risk assessments, training or procedures. Very crabby boss who knows I need the money and cannot afford to leave.

only piece of 'increased' security since the robbery is a baseball bat which has made an appearance. He expects us to use that!

Advice please. Thanks

[missprim]

Well I wouldn't do your job I think you should be looking for something else.
Sorry I can't help on the legal side but I'm sure someone will.

[jewellerjim]

I am but sadly there is not much around x

[rowanwitch]

He has a responsibility to ensure the safety of staff but if pushed he may prefer to close branches and consolidate the business rather than hire more staff. You should get a 20 min break if you work more than 6 hours I believe

[EvianBaby]

Well if you work from 9-5 with no break at all then he's breaking the law but what you can do about that I don't know, although I'm sure someone more knowledgable will give more useful info soon.

[redman41]

You should use that Baseball Bat to knock some sense into your naive Boss.
Has your shop got an Alarm System linked to your nearest manned Police Station ??
Your life is worth more than all the Jewellery in the Shop and it would be a very unwise move to try and tackle armed raider(s) !!

[smurfchops]

I agree with redman, your life is worth more than your job. Keep looking for something new - even if it pays less, it would be much much safer. Your boss doesn't deserve decent staff if he treats them like he treats you. Good luck in your search x

[rowanwitch]

phone ACAS for advice and the health and safety executive

[rockyracoon]

How on earth is he insured with no level of security? What an awful situation Jim, I hope someone can help.

[tonywiltshire]

At common law an employer is under a duty to take reasonable care for the health and safety of his employees, it is not against any regulation for you to be there on your own but the standard of care is “the care which an ordinary prudent employer would take in all the circumstances”. Under the working time regulations, which you may have opted out of, but can opt back into, you are entitled to a minimum of 20 minutes break if the working day is six hours or more.

Take up your concerns with your employer; raise a grievance, if you feel strongly over your position. If you have been employed for one year or more you are entitled to go to an employment tribunal if you are dismissed, but I note you need the money/job.

[Postdog]

Suggestion. Tip the wink to crime prevention at the local police and request that they visit, maybe under the pretence of general security and prevention advice for shops, and ask their advice on what could be done and if it could be enforced. I would suspect the bat being there is not their idea of OK either, maybe even illegal.

[jewellerjim]

the lunch hour thing is not the issue, but surely they have a duty to provide security training procedures to staff and risk assessments. It is very very unsafe and i feel like telling them to stick it right up their ****. I have found that environmental health are the people to take it up with as he will do nothing about it. Applying for jobs as we speak - thank you all - such kind words of encouragement xx

[joko]

i would speak to the relevant people at the council regarding health and safety and ask them to provide as much info as possible and give it to your boss... he may be old school and not realise all the things he needs to do

regarding cctv, you could get stickers to put on the windows and dummy cams - not great but better than nothing...
you can get domestic systems that go through a tv screen, which are not expensive as a fully intsalled system would be.
you should also get some kind of panic alarm to wear, that will at least scare any robbers.

whatever you do, do not try to tackle any robbers - put your hands in the air and let them help themselves... the owner doesnt value you enough to ensure you are safe so why should you give a monkeys about his stock being safe?

personally id leave but if you really don't want to, try to find alternatives for him...

[jewellerjim]

i think the time has come for me to leave as soon as possib
le - nothing is worth your life thanks friends for all your advice. Some people don't deserve good staff x

[JonnyBoy12]

That sounds like a cr*p jewellers to me. They should have a very high level of security for that type of shop. Both those and gun shops should have the best security know to Mankind.

As for not having a lunch hour that seems very wrong. I think that you should speak to a solicitor about this one as helpful as we are each case is different and your employer seems very lax about your welfare.

I am sorry I can not be of more help but this is out of my league.