Online Punch

A survey was conducted for the 5th time by Eurofound to assess the physical hazards of European workers in different occupations. This survey called the European Working Conditions Survey found out that one worker in three has to transport heavy loads at the minimum of 25% of their working hours and one in four workers are open to all kinds of vibrations. This has not been changed from the year 2000.

Continuous hands and arms movement has been present in working environment from ten years. Even though many European workers have to do physical labor, the hazards are not limited to manual employees alone. One in six employees has to maintain postures which tire them easily, almost completely in their working hours where as one in three employees has to do this from one-fourth to three-fourth of their office timings.

The survey considered different aspects inside a working environment. These are working time, training, skills, safety, discrimination, work-life balance, harassment and health among many other aspects. The finding of this exclusive survey can be accessed with latest tool of developed by Eurofound, the Survey Mapping Tool.

Gijs van Houten, the research officer said that service sector employees, for example a cashier, will also have to physical labor while at work. Employees can take help of some devices to reduce the work pressure, even when they are burdened with work.

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Customers at the Internacionale clothing retail store in Carlisle are just no longer interested in shopping at the store. It is freezing cold with doors open even during winter. The temperature is as low as 7.6 degrees while the minimum temperature for comfort is 16 degrees.

An anonymous complaint came to the office of the Health and Safety Executive. HSE inspectors who went in for investigations were surprised to observe that the store was really cold. The heating system was not functioning properly and needed quick repairs. Keeping the doors open added more misery to the shoppers and the working attendants.

An Improvement Notice was served under Section 21 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. However, there were no moves towards improvement. When the HSE Inspectors visited the store on two separate occasions, the conditions of the store remained status quo. The doors continued to be open always and the heating system was not repaired.

Anna Hart of Internacionale opined that it was a waste of time, money and effort to get the systems repaired as the lease on the property had expired. The City Council prosecuted Internacionale and levied a fine of £2,000 plus costs. The company pleaded guilty to the charges and paid the fine. Interestingly, the lease for the store expired and Internacionale moved out.

It is imperative that health and safety responsibilities are taken seriously and regulations followed. Public health and safety is of paramount importance in businesses and any violations are liable for penalties and fines. Despite reputation of quality and fitness, Internacionale was found guilty of not safeguarding the interests of its customers. The workers of the store were not in a position to raise any objections against the policy. It is time for organisations to be more sensitive to the needs of the work environment.

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Come October 2011, employees on the verge of retirement can choose to continue. The Default Retirement Age (DRA) is all set to be scrapped. Retirement will be a matter of choice. While the employees with the zeal and motivation to work can continue doing so, employees willing to pack their bags can go on to pursue retirement benefits. The decision appears to be simple and the process smooth.

However, a recent survey by law firm Shoosmiths has revealed an interesting mixture of opinions about the aged 65+ workforce. Employers who participated in the survey have expressed a number of fears and policy strategies that aims at balancing the wise worker and the enthusiastic worker.

115 employers responded to the survey and half of them believed that the retirement age would continue while the other half firmly believed that the retirement age would be scrapped for good. While employers are concerned over exit policies and compensation benefits, they are also worried about the growth ladder for the younger generation.

If few employees choose to retire, it will be a challenge for the organisation to keep up with the needs of a workforce with different needs and benefits. Older employees prefer medical benefits and leave entitlement policies and the younger employees are enamoured by performance bonuses and handsome packages.

20% of the employers hoped that retirement ages would be kept for some but not for all roles, while 23% thought they would retain a retirement age for all roles. According to Partner and head of employment Kevin McCavish at the law firm the new law of abolishing DRA would create a strong g impact on the workforce policies. While the going may not be smooth, it would definitely result in an era of new strategies and policies.

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Stress is a common problem everywhere these days. Recession has added further to the stress among the working population.

Unite has taken upon itself to launch a one year program to reduce stress in offices. It aims to study the levels of stress among employees and to remind the employers of their legal obligations regarding stress management. It will also strive to put good and executable stress management best practices in place.

Unite announced about the program on International Workers’ Memorial Day (IWMD) recently.

It is also trying to pay special attention to stress management for workers of charities who are often ignored. Workers working for charities have been found to be suffering from stress issues due to financial insecurity perpetrated by low donations to the charities.

Therefore, Unite is starting a new study involving around 2,500 not-for-profit workers in order to figure out their stress related issues.

Rachael Maskell, Unite National Officer, Not for Profit Sector, has appreciated the effort.

She said that the aim of the study is to convene a national conference where the participants will develop means and ways of managing stress in charities with the involvement of the management.

It is very important to control stress in this sector due to its growing trend. As Rachael puts it, stress can strike anyone at any point, and is quite contagious.

An IOSH Training Course, accredited by the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health, can assist managers to successfully manage appropriate policies and procedures and improve upon management skills to help tackle stress in the workplace.

In Scotland, a new initiative has been taken by Hugh Henry, a member of the Scottish Parliament, to provide better protection to the shop workers and other such workers providing some service to the public. Henry is hopeful that the draft of a new bill named The Workers (Aggravated Offences) Bill will be ready by May 2010.

The main provision of the bill will be to recognise abuse and assault on workers as aggravated crime and the assaulters to be penalised heavily. There is already an Emergency Workers Act of 2005 which imposes tough penalties on the public for assault on frontline workers who provide emergency services. The present bill is aiming at having the same penalties in case of abuse of shop workers too.

Henry said that assault on shopworkers is quite common and although some regulations are there, tougher penalties are needed to protect them. The shopworkers deal with the public daily and since there is face-to face interaction, the risk of abusive behaviour and assault is greater. The law should thus be there to act as a deterrent.

Various unions have already extended their support to this bill. The general secretary of USDAW adds that one in ten workers is assaulted by the public and the present law is not providing enough protection. USDAW has already started a campaign to have such a law in England and Wales as well.

Protecting the health and safety of employees is an essential part of risk management. The health and safety consultants from Workplace Law can assist managers and supervisors in all they need to know to help handle health and safety in their teams, and to help their organisation find the best ways to lead and promote health and safety, and therefore meet its legal obligations.