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UK Workers Use Health Myths as Excuse for Poor Service

The Health and Safety Executive is dispelling health misconceptions in an effort to combat employee excuses.

  • Aug 27, 2012

According to Britain's Health and Safety Executive, some companies may be abusing health and safety practices to avoid service. The agency cited multiple instances supporting the claim that health policies are being misused, including an occasion where a airline passenger was refused a blanket. This report comes after HSE, in April, called for UK citizens to submit examples of what it described as a "ludicrous ruling" in relation to health and safety practices.

In light of its findings, HSE compiled a list of the top 10 safety myths it observed, according to the BBC:

  • A boot supplier claimed it was banned from accepting dirty boots for return.
  • Cafes and restaurants refused to heat up baby food.
  • A golf club told players that golf buggies were not health and safety authorized.
  • A hospital refused the use of a microwave on a ward.
  • A gym-goer was told he could not lift weights without wearing sneakers.
  • A woman was banned by her boss from wearing sandals in the office in the summer.
  • A passenger was refused a blanket on a flight but told she could buy one.
  • A campsite banned sleeping in a camper van.
  • A primary school's tree house had to be located away from the premises because of a risk to children.
  • A council banned a nursery teacher from taking children to a garden.

In effort to bust these myths, often used as excuses by employees to avoid extra work, HSE encouraged citizens to "fight back" against poor service blamed on false health regulations. HSE has been taking aim at at least one safety myth a month on its website in an effort to inform the public.

Comments

Tue, Aug 28, 2012 Nick Green North Wesy

The heazdline in this article is very misleading!! I cannot see in any of the quoted examples where "workers" were responsible for the so called excuses. Whether or not these stories are related to using health and safety as a means of avoiding providing a service is also very unclear. For example aviation companies are increasingly charging for anything they provide so the example of the passenger refused a blanket, (but given the option to purchase one)would appear to indicate that health and safety was not even the given reason for refusal. In all the examples within this "top ten" could well be as a result of either Company / Organisational policies or a direct Management decision. There is no where nearly enough information in the article to judge the merits if any of the decisions quoted to judge whether they were justified or not, but to just blame the workers seems to me to be totally out of order!!

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