Leisure sector poor on health and safety
Leisure sector employees face poor levels of health and safety in the workplace, says AXA Insurance.
It surveyed 130 employees who have been injured whilst working in the leisure and hospitality sector over the past five years.
Accidents in the kitchen accounted for most of the injuries to leisure employees with 74 out of the 130 (57 per cent) injured there, while, 105 of the people injured (81 per cent) suffered cuts or burns. However, despite the number of injuries only half of them (65 respondents) claimed to have received health and safety training.
Whilst the study found accidents in the kitchen to be the most common cause of an accident, 30 leisure employees interviewed (23 per cent) had taken a fall or tripped over, nine (7 per cent) had been injured by lifting heavy items and a further nine developed repetitive strain injury from their working environment.
Employees in the leisure industry were less likely to take time off to recover from their injury. Just 66 per cent of leisure employees took no time off at all compared to just 52 per cent on average across all industries.
Doug Barnett, risk strategy manager for AXA, said: "Employees in the leisure industry need to be particularly aware of the hazards they face in the workplace and should be fully briefed on health and safety procedures.
"Good health and safety procedures are vital to the running of a successful business. Not only is there a legal requirement to meet minimum standards but these injuries can mean employees have to take time off work to recover and lead to compensation pay outs. In light of this, we are advising all employers, to assess the potential risks and dangers that the working environment may pose to their staff and take necessary action".
Most common accidents and resulting injuries sustained in the leisure industry:
How accident / injury happened Number of people who have suffered this in the past five years
Fall, slip or trip 30
Lifting 9
Inappropriate working environment 9
Bitten 3
Kitchen accident 74
