Slips and trips are the most common cause of accidents in the catering industry, accounting for 75% of serious injuries.
The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1992 require employers to have effective arrangements in place to control risks. These include preventing or minimising the risk of injury from slips and trips.
The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 state:
- the floor surface should be of suitable construction
- it should not be "slippery so as to expose any person to a risk to their health and safety"
- the floor must also have effective drainage
- the floor should have "no holes, or slope or be uneven so as to … expose a person to risk"
- employers should ensure so far as is reasonably practicable that "floors are kept free of obstruction from any article" that may cause a person to trip
- waste materials must not be allowed to accumulate, "except in suitable receptacles".
Safety shoes
In certain circumstances employers are obliged to provide "personal protective equipment" for employees. The circumstances are when the risk to health and safety cannot be prevented or minimised by other means first: for example, by using a particular type of flooring material. Protective equipment should be viewed as a last resort for minimising and controlling risk. In catering, when the risk of slips or trips cannot be minimised or prevented by other means, employers should provide safety shoes. The shoes should be:
- correct for the type of work and the risk involved
- correct for the particular employee
- correct for the work environment
- kept clean and free from material which may itself cause a slip
- replaced before the soles are worn smooth.
The penalties for an employer not complying with the specific duties under the above regulations are as set out in the article on risk assessment.
Penalties for an offence under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1992 are more severe. A person who suffers an injury as the result of a slip, trip or fall in a catering establishment may bring a personal injury claim for compensation against the owner of the establishment. Such a claim may be brought for negligence or for breach of statutory duty.
Minimising the risk
HSE Catering Information Sheet No 6 sets out practical guidance on slips and trips in the catering industry. It also provides details on practical measures to control them.
The causes of slips and trips are:
- contamination of the floor from spills: for example, after cleaning; from shoes with wet soles; from grease, water, polythene bags or cardboard on the floor
- slip resistance of the floor is not maintained
- slip resistance of the floor is too low
- steps and slopes cause sudden changes in step or do not have adequate foot or hand holds
- the floor contains uneven surfaces or obstructions
- floor conditions cannot easily be seen by employees or customers
- a task being carried out compromises the employee’s ability to walk safely: for example, the need to carry, lift, push, lower or pull loads
- the employee carrying out the task was not suitable or was inadequately trained
- the employee was not supervised sufficiently
- the footwear offered insufficient slip resistance with the floor surface.
by Caroline Stockwell
Caroline Stockwell works in the regulatory group at law firm DLA, specialising in safety, health and environmental matters and food safety.
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