Gritting At Work H&s

[BigRooster]

At work we have big open yards and the office’s are either side of this yard . Now I work in production which means like lots of others I could be walking anywhere on this yard but when we ice like this morning the company grits a straight path between the offices which is good if your office staff would you say the company could be at risk of a claim if someone slips outside this gritted area which production staff have to use .

[Maydup]

It would be nice if they could grit the whole area, good employee relations and all that, but even so they cant be entirely responsible for the weather. Otherwise they would have to make sure they cleared every single inch of the yard of rain, ice or hail. They could clear it for example, and the temperatures drop and it freezes again.

H&S would suggest you assess the risk and if its really really bad ask them either to clear it or to issue you with some ice grips for your shoes. Stay safe.

[Davemano]

I think the answer to this is quite simple - The management are responsible for providing a SAFE working environment which includes all the places used by the staff. An accident on the untreated surfaces is a managerial fault.

[Peter Pedant]

// this gritted area which production staff have to use .
//

davemano and I agree on the law
but possibly not on the conclusion - they have given you a safe path which you have to use and ....if you dont, you are responsible
( lots of case law on this: including: did someone chase you saying "you arent using the path we set out blah blah blah yap yap yap)

[Davemano]

Peter P
If his job necessitates him walking about the yard, just gritting the pathway is no good to him.

[sanmac]

Doesn't grit just give you traction on an icy surface? Perhaps they should strew rock-salt, which actually melts the ice, over the entire area.

[venator]

I bet there are 100 compensation lawyers following this post, waiting to cash in. What has this world come to?

[Davemano]

My 19.57 post was as a result of an incident which took place where I worked.

[sanmac]

I should add that rock-salt does not "melt" the ice, it lowers the temperature at which water freezes and turns into ice.