Safety Reps - Thumbs up or down?

[Mesterh]

. All the correspondence, minutes and inspection reports he had were handed over to Westminster Council who prosecuted both the contractor Romec and Royal Mail.

 

Got to love the last bit of that, The royal mail got prosecuted because of a mistake someone else made:thumbdown:

 

This is why if you decide to fall from a tree and die, due to lack of say not wearing a harness then the customer who innocently contractored you and has no clue whatsoever is involved in treework can be prosecuted!

[Lancstree]

Ain't it the same as a council getting prosecuted for an injury to a climber who belonged to a company the council contracted the work to? The council in this situation would have the 'duty of care' responsibility which is why they ask for so much paperwork from contractors regarding risk assessments etc.

[treequip]

Got to love the last bit of that, The royal mail got prosecuted because of a mistake someone else made:thumbdown:

 

This is why if you decide to fall from a tree and die, due to lack of say not wearing a harness then the customer who innocently contractored you and has no clue whatsoever is involved in treework can be prosecuted!

 

Are you sure about that?

 

A private punter is entitled to assume that if you represent yourself as competent you are competent.

[John Hancock]

Are you sure about that?

 

A private punter is entitled to assume that if you represent yourself as competent you are competent.

 

A private punter is only expected to have a ‘reasonable knowledge’ of a contractor. For example, if he or she brought you out a cup of tea and they saw you logging-up in your best denim hot-pants and open-toe sandals, then went back inside (just before you lopped your leg off) the magistrate might take a dim view of him/her.

[Mesterh]

Are you sure about that?

 

A private punter is entitled to assume that if you represent yourself as competent you are competent.

 

I did have some info on the subject but i cant find it atm.

 

It isnt good enough to assume that someone is competent and what lengths should a private customer go to to ensure that you are?

It is a joke the more you look into Health and Safety the more ridiculous it gets.

 

If you followed all the rules and regs you would get naff all done.

Imagine telling a potential customer that they will have to get the flags in there back garden re done because they are sticking up and one of the lads could trip over, injure themselves and the customer could be sued!

 

Different thing but if I hack down Mrs Smiths tree then go and dump the logs and chip down some farmers lane and get caught then Mrs Smith could be prosecuted for my actions!

 

I doubt very much that any of us abide by all "the rules" all the time.

 

Ah well I suppose its best to look on the brightside.....

 

could be living in alot worse countries than here

[stoxs]

I think alot of this is if you can prove you took good steps to prevent any incidents happening and show it by a paper document then i thnk the contracting company is clear.

 

Not sure about Mrs Miggins getting you to trim her bush and you chop your fingers off.

I would think the employer would have to show knowledge of the field of contract,I.e if i got a electrician out to wire in a shower for me i really wouldn`t know what PPE he should be using or correct methods of work so how could i be liable?

But if i got a tree surgeon in to cut a tree down without PPE then i guess i could be liable.

 

Interesting subject would love to know where this stands

[treequip]

I think you are taking an absolutist view to H&S legislation. It is clearly impractical for the punter to absolutely ascertain the competency of a given contractor before the works commence. They can only take the contractor at his word (and perhaps rely on a referral).

If the punter saw the job develop in a clearly hazardous manner they would be expected to intervene but they can only be expected to hold a laymans knowledge.

 

Andy

[Johny Walker]

Is anyone here a safety rep in local authority? Do you find that you are respected by your employer and workmates or treated differently? Do you find that your position causes friction in your team or workplace and do you let this worry you?

 

Our place is lacking one and I'm considering it myself but the above questions concern me. I see the role as very important because I often hear complaints and valid points that are t:hmmmm:aken no further so nothing is done. It is easy to be one of those people that complain but do nothing but I think it might be a worthy challenge to act on these issues. Is the training and experience valuable for future career or would I be viewed as a jobs-worth and an inconvenience to employers?

 

sounds like you should give said job very very wide berth all that red tape & b/sxit :hmmmm:

[Mesterh]

Have a bit of a look at this http://http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg368.pdf

 

I've posted it before but no one seemed interested tbh

Well one did

[treequip]

Let’s get the link right

http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg368.pdf

That’s a good practice guide and not law.

 

The law understands that private punters don’t have the knowledge or resources to make the kind of exhaustive checks that a large company can and doesn’t expect them to.

 

Andy