When auditing their business, logistic companies are often found wanting in several areas.
In particular, they often fail to:
More than 2,000 people suffer a serious injury each year falling from vehicles and on average five of these injuries prove fatal. Incidents include falls from trailers, tail-lifts and truck cabs.
Employers and drivers are legally required to make sure they take practical measures to prevent falls from vehicles and/or reduce the risks of falls while working at height.
Common causes of falls include:
0
injuries a year falling from a vehicle
Risk assessments are required by law. They are essential in identifying sensible ways to control workplace Health & Safety risks. Failure to adequately manage any potential risks can lead to prosecution and a heavy fine.
Risk assessments help you to understand any risks that might be involved. You can get risk assessments drafted by our Health & Safety specialists.
While individual drivers are not responsible for writing their own risk assessment (fleet manager or equivalent will be responsible), they should be familiar with and have signed their employer’s risk assessment. Drivers should also be aware of the potential risks they face on jobs and how to reduce them.
Fleet operator risk assessments must cover the prevention of falls from vehicles and working at height. They should also cover the:
The risk assessment should also answer the following:
Drivers must be familiar with the risk assessment and should sign it.
Working at height should be avoided unless essential. If unavoidable, make sure all work at height is properly planned, supervised and carried out by people competent to do the job.
To avoid falls from vehicles:
This might seem a bit trivial but never jump down – falls are more likely and it’s bad for the knees!
Always get on or off vehicles safely by, for example:
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fatalities every year
Pre-use checks on vehicles should be carried out, including:
This is about getting together in an informal manner to discuss Health & Safety issues.
Toolbox talks help promote a positive Health & Safety culture.
They are a great way of communicating company policy to all drivers (including sub-contracted and agency drivers) on the prevention of falls from vehicles or trailers and working at height.
To make sure drivers (as well as those who assist them in loading activities and passengers) understand the risks – ask:
Provide examples of how people can work more safely.
Ellis Whittam make simple sense of the law.
The law states, when it comes to Health & Safety, you need to have a ‘Competent Person’. This is something Ellis Whittam can do to keep your fleet safe.
A Health & Safety consultant with specific transport sector experience will help to identify the hazards and manage the risks in your company.
We help directors and managers understand and keep on top of their multiple Health & Safety duties.
Contact us to learn about our fixed fee, unlimited support service.
Since that decision, official statistics have proven that the number of Employment Tribunal claims has gone through the roof. Specifically, for the period of April to June 2018, the number of new tribunal claims increased by 165% when compared to the same period in 2017! Since the refund scheme was implemented, there have been 12,400 fee refund payments paying back over £10m!
For an employee with a grudge, it’s easier than ever to make a claim. It takes a disgruntled employee five minutes to fill out a claim form on line for free, but it can take months or even years to resolve once embroiled in that tribunal process!
0 % rise in Employment Tribunal claims
To prevent claims, it is best to give your HR and Employment Law matters the attention they deserve. They shouldn’t be relegated to the bottom of the list of priorities, but be managed competently, quickly and effectively.
The dismissal of an employee brings with it obvious risks of a claim. However, often claims come out of the blue, from a complaint about working practices or a grievance about unfair treatment. As a result, it is necessary to have a legally compliant Employee Handbook and trained managers who have a thorough understanding of HR policies and procedures. You also need to seek expert HR and Employment Law advice to guide you when tricky challenges arise. All these steps can help mitigate the risks of being taken to an Employment Tribunal.
If you do not have in-house HR capability or they are struggling to deal with HR issues, your best option is to outsource your HR and Employment Law to experts.
Our qualified and experienced Employment Law Advisers can:
Without a doubt, employers are much less likely to get dragged into a claim at all if they take advice and support from our Employment Law Experts as soon as issues arise. The relative lower increase in claims we have seen at EW compared to the national average shows the fantastic quality of our initial advice. 
James Tamm Head of Employment Law
At EW, we’ve seen a 103% increase in claims during April to June 2018 compared to the same quarter last year. This demonstrates that now more than ever there is a need for proper support in managing employment law issues.
Ellis Whittam’s HR and Employment Law advisory service offer you: