Legal advice: A share of the responsibility
Safety is in the hands of both employees and employers.
by Suzanne Davies of thePublican.com's team of legal experts from London solicitors Joelson Wilson.
You may as an employer feel that you are constantly bound up in ever-increasing red tape. In the frequently changing world of employment law, you might think you are the only one at the sharp end of the legislation.
Recent changes have lifted the national minimum wage from £3.80 to £4.50 and imminent new laws will ban discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation or religious beliefs. New mandatory grievance and disciplinary procedures and new mandatory information and consultation procedures are also coming in over the next couple of years.
You would be forgiven for thinking that employees themselves do not have any responsibilities. Not true. The Health & Safety Act 1974 provides a duty to employees to take reasonable care for their health and safety while at work - a "common sense duty" as it might be called.
An employee also has a health and safety responsibility to other people he works with, who may be affected by anything he does or does not do.
The act goes further. An employee must co-operate with an employer "so far as is necessary" to enable any duties or requirements imposed by an employer to be performed or complied with. In other words, an employee must give his employer every assistance in implementing the health and safety legislation, he cannot merely rely on others to do so.
An example would be if a customer broke a glass on the floor of your pub and an employee was asked to clear it up. Company policy is clear that the area should be isolated immediately with hazard signage erected and the glass cleared up.
The employee is aware of the company policy and has received all necessary training, but does nothing. A fellow employee injures himself. It would be open to the relevant authority to prosecute the first employee for failing in his duty to his colleague. There is a criminal sanction for employees who breach these health and safety requirements. It is, of course, an employer who has many more responsibilities with regard to the health and safety legislation, but it is perhaps refreshing in a world where personal responsibility seems to be less and less important that in this area employees cannot absolve themselves entirely of responsibility.
It's good to talk
On the subject of personal responsibility, did you know that with effect from December 1 of this year, employers are likely to be liable to prosecution if they require their employees to use a hand-held phone while driving?
They may also be liable if they fail to forbid employees from using hand-held phones while driving on company business.
So if you are an employer with staff out on the road, there is still just time to ensure that the appropriate prohibition is issued to staff.
This is a by-product of the change in the law with effect from December 1 to make it a criminal offence for anyone to drive a motor vehicle while using a hand-held phone and similar communication devices.
No offence will be committed if the phone is being operated without being held. This means that pushing buttons on a phone while it is sitting in a "hands free" cradle will not be prohibited. The new law will not stop you from using your hand held mobile phone while not driving, for example while sitting in your stationary car.
What is the fine going to be if you are caught driving in your car while using your hand-held phone? The starting point is going to be a fixed penalty of £30, but this could rise to a maximum of £1,000 following a conviction at court (or £2,500 if you have committed the offence while driving a goods vehicle, a bus or a coach).
