Ten of the most ridiculous health and safety
excuses of 2012 were exposed by a regulator recently. Bans on yo-yos in
playgrounds, knives in kitchens and kettles in offices have all been wrongly
blamed on workplace safety laws this year. The mis-uses of health and safety
were spotted by the Health and Safety Executive's Myth Busters Challenge Panel,
which was set up in earlier this year to challenge a stream of silly decisions
wrongly blamed on health and safety. The panel has now responded to its
hundredth case - helping the public to challenge unreasonable bans or
restrictions and force people to honestly explain the real reason behind their
decisions. Analysis of the cases dealt with so far shows that 38 were down to
jobsworths making an excuse for an unpopular decision or simple poor customer
service. Almost a quarter of the cases were found to involve
over-interpretation of legitimate guidelines, leading to daft decisions being
made - probably through fear of being sued. One sixth of all cases came from people
who had been given advice that confused health and safety with other
regulations or regulators. A similar amount was down to communication failures
when explaining the reasons for a decision.
Employment minister, Mark Hoban, said: "It's
so frustrating when people are stopped from doing perfectly sensible things on
the false pretence of health and safety. The panel has now exploded 100 myths
and is helping ordinary people fight back against the jobsworths."
Judith Hackitt, Chair of HSE and the Myth Busters
panel, said: "It's really important that we are all ready to challenge
stupid decisions made in the name of health and safety, and that we as the
regulator give the public the confidence to do so. Not only do the jobsworths
who make these ridiculous edicts waste time and money, and interfere needlessly
with harmless activities, they also undermine our efforts to reduce the number
of people made ill, injured or killed by their work. There's a lot myths about
what health and safety requires, and a good deal of confusion. Getting the
focus back on managing real risks in a sensible and proportionate way is a gift
we could all enjoy."
If
any of our readers has been on the end of a bogus health and safety decision,
why not put it to the Panel here and get the confidence to challenge those
using nonsense health and safety excuses rather than tell the truth behind
unpopular decisions http://www.hse.gov.uk/contact/myth-busting.htm[1]
Top 10 cases
1. Driver refused to allow customer on bus with hot
drink because of health and safety
A bus driver refused to let a passenger on with a
cup of hot coffee on "health and safety" grounds. Of course there is
no occupational health and safety legislation stopping people with hot drinks
onto a bus, and while the company is free to determine its own policies (maybe
spillage or littering in this case), they should not then cop out and blame it
on health and safety.
2. Bar refused to let customer carry tray of drinks
because they had not been 'health and safety trained'
Tim Bannister, age35, from Hampshire thought the
bartender of a local restaurant was having a laugh when he was told he couldn't
have a tray to carry drinks from the bar to his table in a local pub. It turned
out that the bar had brought in this daft rule as some bright spark thought
only people with specialist training could possible grapple with the rigours of
balancing a tray of drinks!
Occupation technical advisor, Tim told the Panel
about this ridiculous rule and it agreed it was bizarre to suggest special
training was needed for something the customer is likely to do regularly in
their own home.
Speaking later, Tim said: "It's was
embarrassing but also laughable to be told I wasn't to be trusted with a tray!
I have a responsible job and don't appreciate being told I can't handle a tray
without training. Of course I knew this was nothing to do with real health and
safety which is why I approached the Panel. It seems to me these stupid
decisions cause harm to the reputation of real health and safety which is about
saving lives of people at work."
3. Charity shop has said that they cannot sell
knitting needles for health and safety reasons
Maggie Croall, 57, from Homfirth was stunned when
she went to her local charity shop to buy some knitting needles and was told
the shop did not sell them for health and safety reasons! But the trained
paediatric nurse smelled a rat and approached Myth Busters who confirmed no
health and safety regulations apply to the sale of knitting needles and the
panel saw no legitimate health and safety reason which could justify this
decision. It urged the charity to reconsider its decision and at least come
clean on the real reason for its decision.
Maggie said: "I know often shop assistants
just fob you of with the health and safety excuse for everything, often they
answer from the top of their heads without even thinking. Once the Myth Busters
told me I was correct to doubt the reason I went back to the shop and passed
the Myth Busters thoughts on. We shall see if they change their policy"
4. Public hall removed knives from kitchen on the
grounds of health and safety
John Bull, 66, from Cambridgeshire knew a barmy
decision when he spotted one when he discovered the local public hall did not
allow knives in their kitchen! Most people agree that a knife is an essential
kitchen tool, but someone at the hall obviously thought he knew better. John
brought this daft decision to the attention of the Myth Busters who ruled that
a knife ban in a kitchen was neither sensible nor proportionate, and certainly
no laws existed banning them from their natural home!
John said: "I knew straight away it was a
crackers decision, but I took it to the challenge panel who agreed with me. We
see so many daft decisions being made in the name of health and safety I think
more people should question these ridiculous decisions rather than just
accepting them. I don't think people know what real health and safety is these
days, with so many people hiding behind the phrase when these decisions are for
other reasons entirely. If you are the victim of a crazy decision ask the
challenge panel for their opinion. If more of us did this it would force
decision makers think more carefully before making ridiculous rules".
5. Shop refused to put coffee in customer's own
reusable cup on the grounds of health and safety
A coffee shop refused to fill a customer's own
reusable cup with coffee, citing health and safety. The MBCP ruled there is no
health and safety regulation preventing the use of reusable cups and advised
the customer to ask the shop to explain the real reasons why his reusable cup
remains empty.
6. Airline passenger told boiled sweets were no
longer provided on the grounds of health and safety
Like most people Sandra Scott, 46, from Kingston
finds sucking on a boiled sweet when flying relieves the air pressure in her
ears during take-off. So she was unimpressed on one airline when she requested
a sweet from a member of the cabin crew only to be told that boiled sweets were
no longer provided on the grounds of health and safety because children could
choke on them! The fact Sandra, is an adult didn't seem to matter and anyway,
she knew the health and safety excuse was a load of nonsense. HSE's MBCP sided
with Sandra and found the issue does not relate to health and safety
legislation and even the Civil Aviation Authority do not prevent boiled sweets
being given out on flights, so only the airline knows why it embarked on this
flight of fancy.
Company director, Sandra said: "I couldn't
believe what I was hearing when the cabin crew refused me a sweet. I thought
the air pressure was playing tricks with my ears! I knew there was no way this
was a decision based on any health and safety law. It may just be the airline
just wanted to save money on sweets, but I went to the Panel to expose this
nonsense and they agreed wholeheartedly with me. I'd now like the airline to
tell me the real reason for this mean minded ban."
7. Hotel chain does not provide floor towels due to
'Health and Safety'
A hotel chain does not provide floor towels for
stepping out of the bath/shower due to 'Health and Safety' as people
"could slip over".
Of course there is no health and safety regulation
which prevents hotels from providing bath mats or towels in bathrooms says the
Panel. It would be much better if the hotel chain explained the real reasons
for their decision, rather than pretending it is motivated by concerns about
health and safety.
8. Fish & chip shop told customer he could not
have 'batter scraps' for health and safety reasons
Aquatics development manager and part time
lifeguard, Geoff Wade, originally from Whitley Bay, popped into a fish and chip
shop after work in Dagenham where he now works for his traditional Friday night
fish and chips. As is tradition in the North East, he asked for some extra fish
batter scraps to complement his meal.
However, Geoff, 29, was left disappointed and
bemused when the server denied him the tasty morsels for health and safety
reasons. An unimpressed Geoff went straight to the Myth Busters to complain of
this decision and the Panel agreed this was simply another case of health and
safety being used as a casual excuse. They told Geoff that if the fish and chip
shop owner has decided not to sell the batter scraps for whatever reason, then
that was up to them, but health and safety was a lazy excuse.
Geoff said: "I've been served batter scraps
from chip shops in the North all my life, but in Dagenham, despite the server
sieving out fresh scraps from the same fryer the fish came out of, they
wouldn't serve me them because of 'health and safety reasons', which is
obviously ridiculous!"
Geoff, who will be taking part in the North Sea
Volunteer Lifeguards' Boxing Day Swim (an annual event that not been cancelled
due to bogus health and safety concerns), added "After jumping in the
North Sea for the fish to nibble on my frozen bits, it’s comforting to know at
Whitley Bay's sea front chippies I'll be able to nibble some fried bits without
some jobsworth using non-existent health and safety rules!"
9. School bans yo-yos on health and safety grounds
A school has banned the use of yo-yos on health and
safety grounds.
In exactly the same way as the now legendary conker
myth, there is no health and safety law which bans yo-yos from schools. Like
many toys, there will always be a risk of yo-yos causing minor injuries; it
seems a bit over the top to ban them from the school though.
10 Office workers advised that kettles and
microwaves were not allowed due to health and safety requirements
Office workers were advised that kettles and
microwaves are not allowed due to health and safety requirements and that
insurance would be needed at a cost to the employer. There is no health and
safety law prohibiting the use of kettles and microwaves in the office. The
office workers have been misinformed. It would be much better if their employer
explained their real concerns about having this equipment in the office.
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