Every accident has an immediate cause, such as a floor contaminant that wasn’t cleaned up in reasonable time’ (and the Health and Safety Executive haven’t put a figure to what ‘in reasonable time’ is) causing a kitchen worker to slip and injure themselves. They also have underlying causes and in the instance of the hypothetical accident above, that might have been:
• A failure by the employer to repair a fridge that was leaking coolant onto the floor, a fault that had been reported to him several days before the accident occurred.
• The very layout of the kitchen which meant that heavy vessels with liquids in them had to be carried an unnecessarily long way by staff thus presenting more risk of the contents splashing onto the floor.
Both of the underlying causes would not have existed and the resultant accidents not occurred if the employer had not be negligent in discharging their duty of care to ensure as far as practicable their employees’ health, safety and welfare.
Complying with this legal duty to take steps to avoid harm coming to their employees necessitates the employer making themselves aware of the health and safety regulations that apply to the business they are running. Such regulations and some of the industry best practice guidance available are not the most stimulating of reads, but a failure to understand or undertake with their responsibilities in law and be able to identify and address risks in the workplace could put their kitchen (and other) employees at tremendous risk from injury and even death. Basic good intentions, a macho ‘can do’ attitude or a trust in natural human common sense just will not cut it.
Commercial kitchens are generally far more dangerous than domestic kitchens, including in the health and safety mix, as they do, more people, rapid movement, larger hotter stoves, a hot environment, a wider variety of equipment and implements, heavy lifting, skin irritants and an abundance of super-hot liquids, high work pressure and possible worker fatigue. That is a chaotic bundle of factors, any one of which could play a part in a kitchen accident if not taken into consideration. The situation is dealt with thus:
Any employer with more than 4 employees is obliged to:
1. Prepare a ‘statement of safety policy’.
2. Identify workplace risks and assess which are significant.
3. Control those risks.
4. Provide health and safety training for all employees during which they will be made aware of the identified risks and the methods for controlling them.
5. Issue employees with the necessary personal protective equipment and instruction on how and when to use it.
6. Provide additional task or role specific employee training as required.
Every employer has to prepare risk assessments.
Considering a Kitchen Work Accident Compensation Claim? We can help you recover damages
It is crucial that you claim the compensation you deserve for the pain, suffering and financial loss you experience if you are involved in a kitchen accident at work.
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