Slips and trips costs catering and hospitality £23m a year

Workers who are injured by slipping, tripping and falling over in the workplace cost the catering and hospitality industry £23m a year, according to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
 
The accidents resulted in 562 major injuries in 2008-2009 and a further 1,081 which resulted in workers having to take more than three days off work, research revealed.

The figures come as part of a new campaign launched by the safety body to stamp down on slips, trips and falls, which are the most common kind of workplace injury.

The new phase of the Shattered Lives campaign will see a revised website, where employers will be able to find out how they can reduce the risk of slips, trips and falls cost effectively. The site also provides several online risk assessment tools

Bob Cotton, chief executive of the British Hospitality Association, said: “The British Hospitality Association welcomes the Shattered Lives campaign and would urge companies to visit the website to find out how they can reduce the number of slips, trips and falls at their organisation and reduce the rising costs of preventative incidents.”

Peter Brown, Head of the HSE’s Work and Environment Division, said: “These figures highlight the very real and serious nature of preventable slip, trip and fall incidents in the workplace.  Slips, trips and falls might sound funny but they shatter the lives of thousands of British workers every year."

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 By Neil Gerrard

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