Health & Safety Myths

Myth Buster: Children Banned From Waiting in Car at a Recycling Centre

Tue, 14 Mar 2017 00:00:00 +0000

A recycling centre manager requested that children be removed from their parent’s car and taken outside the centre to wait, as they are not allowed on site for health and safety reasons.

There is specific industry guidance which clearly states that “children should stay in the car” at civic amenity sites, so this is a badly misinformed myth. It is also a dangerous myth, in that the “health and safety” excuse used could have led to a greater risk to the children. Managers at waste and recycling sites should know their industry standards much better than this.

Myth Buster: Every Possible Risk Needs a Safety Sign

Mon, 10 Jul 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Safety signs are useful when there's a significant risk which can't be avoided or controlled in any other way. But that doesn't mean you should add a sign for every possible risk, however trivial.

Where there are serious risks in your workplace, don't just rely on signs - take practical steps to deal with them. If you do need a sign, make sure it has the right symbol and is clearly visible.

Myth Buster: Office Lights Must have a Working Bulb

Wed, 11 Oct 2017 00:00:00 +0000

The Issue: A worker has been informed that for health and safety reasons all the lights in the open plan office must have working bulbs in them. Due to a pre-existing eye condition, the worker has switched off a strip light above their workstation for the last three years, but this will not now be allowed.

Panel Opinion: The panel has identified numerous reasons why the facilities management team in this workplace may want to have all lights on but none of them has anything to do with real health and safety risks. The worker has valid (medical) reasons for asking that the strip light be removed from above the workstation and simple common sense suggests that the request should be accommodated, rather than falling back on health and safety as an excuse.