The Problem
The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) has identified slipping as a key national priority, and UK food service employers urgently need to address the risk of slipping in the kitchen.

The Law
Slips are the most common cause of injury at work, costing employers more than £500m a year. US catering employers take the issue extremely seriously because of a rash of damaging compensation cases and, with growth in the UK of the "no win, no fee" culture, employers here would be well advised to do the same.

The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 requires employers to ensure the health and safety of all employees, including "taking steps to control slip and trip risks".

Further to the act, the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 require all employers to conduct an assessment to identify risk, and this must be documented if there are more than five staff.

The employer is required to ensure they have complied with their duty of care to staff by eliminating identified risks, including risk of slipping. If the employer cannot identify any other methods of reducing the level of risk as far as is practicable, PPE (personal protective equipment) footwear must be issued.

The HSE and local environmental health departments have powers to enforce health and safety legislation, ranging from an improvement notice, requiring risks to be addressed within a set period of time, through a prohibition notice, prohibiting the business from trading until improvements are made, to a prosecution.

Expert advice
You, as the employer, are in breach of the regulations if staff are injured in a slip and it can be shown that you have failed in your duty of care to take action to, as far as possible, prevent the accident.

Although providing appropriate flooring and preventing spills and contamination may constitute taking appropriate action, this is not always practical in a kitchen environment. As Percy Smith, HSE principal inspector, has commented to catering employers: "Sometimes, despite other measures, slip-resistant shoes will be necessary to adequately control risk. The shoes will be regarded as PPE and must be supplied free."

Many companies have found their best defence to be slip-resistant footwear. For example, in the USA, restaurant chain Shoney's of Nashville "reduced slips and falls by 58% and associated costs by 93%" by issuing its staff with slip-resistant footwear.

Check List
- Conduct an assessment to identify slipping risks and eliminate them.
- Reduce instances of slippery floors by finding ways to eliminate spills.
- Check your flooring - maybe a new floor covering could control the risk.
- Identify which members of staff are most affected.
- Consider issuing staff with appropriate safety shoes.

Beware!
The HSE warns that "legal actions brought as a result of an injury can be extremely damaging to a business". A prosecution under Sections 2-6 of the Health and Safety at Work Act can result in a fine as high as £20,000 in a lower court, or an unlimited fine in a higher court. However, just as alarming for employers is the growing risk of compensation claims from staff, now endemic in the USA.


Contacts

John Rosling, Shoe Vouchers
01489 890449
www.shoevouchers.co.uk

Health & Safety Executive
08701 545500
www.hse.gov.uk/slips

Food Alert (offers food hygiene and health and safety audits, consultancy, and a 24-hour emergency callout service)
020 7915 5555
www.foodalert.com