Health and Safety gone mad: Hold handrail when on stairs or risk disciplinary action

[buttmunch]

Thousands of workers have been told they must reverse into parking spaces at their offices under a ‘draconian’ health and safety regime imposed by Britain’s second-largest power supplier.

The decree is the top ‘golden rule’ that the 20,000 staff of Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) must follow under threat of disciplinary action.

Workers have also been told they must hold the handrail when using stairs – and that if they disobey the rules, they should expect a ‘challenge’ from colleagues, which they must accept graciously.
Cars

Well-ordered: Cars parked according to the golden rules at Scottish and Southern Energy

The measures have angered some employees, who say they are absurdly stringent. The Government’s Health and Safety Executive sets no guidelines about parking, while the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents said: ‘In general it is preferable to allow the driver a choice depending on the car park layout or circumstance.’

One SSE insider said staff are regularly plagued with safety memos highlighting the dangers of not using stairs properly. On an internal company blog, one worker at the company’s Perth headquarters said: ‘The do’s and don’ts are becoming so ridiculous they are losing their effect.

‘Staff feel the measures are so draconian that they can barely move around the workplace without breaking a Golden Rule. Under current company policy, anyone seen using stairs without holding the handrail must accept a “challenge” from a colleague or manager.

‘It’s known as a “yellow card”. If you are a repeat offender then the company can begin disciplinary action.’
The rules


SSE confirmed that if a worker continually refused to respond to such challenges, the issue would be raised with their boss. A spokesman added: ‘Reversing into a static parking bay is safer than reversing out into a road or car park, which may have traffic and pedestrian movement which you cannot easily see.

‘A quick internet search will highlight the number of fatalities each year arising from people falling down stairs.

‘If everyone held the handrail when going up and down stairs it might not prevent all deaths, but it would probably prevent many of them.’

About 1,000 people die falling down stairs in Britain each year, with elderly people most at risk.

Another of the ‘golden rules’, which are prominently displayed at the company’s premises, says staff must wear ‘PPE’, or personal protective equipment.

Workers posting on the company’s online forum claimed they had been banned from wearing flip-flops in the office, sparking a heated debate over whether women should be banned from wearing high heels at work.

One employee said: ‘Women’s shoes are not very suitable for ascending or descending the stairs. Are three or four-inch heels a good idea?’

However, SSE said there was no ban on high heels or flip-flops, and that no review of the policy was under way.

But the spokesman added: ‘What we insist on is that everyone considers whether what they are wearing is appropriate for the environment they are working in.’

Ok, the reverse parking is probably a good idea but I'd be forced to break the rule just on principle. Holding the hand rail, though, is one of the dumbest things I've ever heard. I can't believe how idiotic the world is getting. The UK really needs to boot Brown & Co. out.

[McJag]

Trust me, you do not want me backing into any parking space. Safety hazard of the highest order.

[buttmunch]

Monty Python would have been hard pressed to come up with this scenario.

[katerpillar]

Falling down the stairs is one thing - falling up the stairs generally hurts less, but is a whole new category of embarrassing. Trust me.

[buttmunch]

Oh, I've been there katerpillar.

[Rondette]

I always reverse into parking spaces , it is a hell of a lot easier to get in and out of, plus it's safer. The handrail one is dumbassery.

[celeb_2006]

Got to cover all bases in this litigious society I guess.

[buttmunch]

I wish every single person in the company would run up and down the stairs not holding the handrail and see what happens.

[kingcap72]

If thousands of people in Britain can't master the simple act of walking up and down stairs yet that's a bigger problem for the gene pool.

[buttmunch]

Fair point. I just wonder how long people are going to sit back and be treated this way. It's fucking absurd.

[stef]

I wish every single person in the company would run up and down the stairs not holding the handrail and see what happens.

that's exactly what i was thinking.
i love your signature, butt, especially connected with this! this is fucking crazy.

[kingcap72]

Fair point. I just wonder how long people are going to sit back and be treated this way. It's fucking absurd.

It is absurd. But some companies seem to be at the extreme ends of the safety spectrum. Some go overboard with the regulations and some try to have as little regulation as possible.

The companies that go overboard are scared of someone getting hurt, which means bad PR and lawsuits. And the companies that don't care about safety regulations are more concerned that it may cut into profits and productivity.

[buttmunch]

This all comes down to the courts allowing this shit to be successfully litigated. If some idiot falls down some stairs and decides to sue the company then the court, barring any REAL fault of hte company, should throw the shit out of court.

[kingcap72]

Agreed. If the company is negligent then they should be sued. But if the employee gets hurt through their own negligence then they shouldn't be allowed to sue.

Or better yet, people that file frivolous lawsuits should be forced to pay ALL legal fees for the person/company that they sued. That would discourage some people from doing it.

[RevellingInSane]

The same people who the company does not trust to walk up and down stairs without aid are being asked to drive backwards? Should they be driving at all if they are that clumsy?