Door Industry Journal - Spring 2012

FIRE SAFETY ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES Fire Safety doesn’t leap immediately to mind as a top priority for many companies. But as we all know, fire kills and even in the least severe of cases it can cause extensive damage to buildings which could put the company permanently out of business. The latest national statistics and analysis provided by the Fire and Rescue Services in the United Kingdom state that in 2010-11, there were 388 fire-related deaths in Britain, 28 fewer than in 2009-10. Nineteen people died and there were 1,200 injuries in fires in buildings other than domestic dwellings. The highest number recorded was 1,096 deaths in 1979. Through the 1980s and 1990s there was a general downward trend. The 2010-11 figures are at the lowest level since the late 1950s, however, we must not get complacent when it comes to this destructive force. It is not clear why there has been a general downward trend in fire related deaths but it can be perhaps attributed to better fire related legislation, greater awareness of fire and improved fire precautions. The fire safety legislation in the UK changed on the 1st October 2006 with the introduction of “The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005” (RRO). This regulation places the responsibility for ensuring the health safety and welfare of employees and others on the employer. Consequently in order to comply with the legislation it is imperative that a responsible person in all organisations compile a written risk assessment outlining the hazards associated with fire from both work activities and hazards found within the workplace. (In Scotland the regulations are slightly different and are known as the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005 and the above responsibility is imposed on the employer. Under the previous legislation a fire officer would generally provide you with a lot of free advice and direction, their approach is now less that of an advisor and more of an enforcer. The RRO places the onus on the “responsible person” to ensure that their premises are suitable, and give them ownership of the problem rather than rely on guidance and direction from fire officers. So who is the responsible person? Where there is an employer, it will be the employer, but others also have duties placed upon them, and this is often overlooked. Many Landlords do not realise that the Order applies to them, as well as the occupiers of the premises. When a landlord/owner is responsible for a building occupied by more than one occupier, even in the case of flats and other residential property, they are responsible for ensuring compliance with those aspects that are not under the effective control of the occupiers, for example, public areas. To read the rest of this article visit our blog at www.doorindustryjournal.blogspot.com and search “Fire Safety Roles” Also online at: www.doorindustryjournal.co.uk 58 THE door industry journal spring 2012 employment & legal SIMPLE STEPS TO MANAGING Sickness & Absence in the Workplace In a recent poll of SME business owners by Citation plc, sickness and absence from work are the issues that most worry them. 21% of those polled believed that sickness and other unauthorised absence had the biggest impact on their business, bigger than disciplinary issues, grievances, redundancy and the economy. Getting the best out of people when they are at work is one thing, but getting them to attend work regularly is a different matter entirely. Non-planned, unauthorised absences are the most disruptive to any organisation, but for SMEs in particular each employee is a larger percentage of the total workforce and so a bigger loss if they are unexpectedly absent. In such circumstances it is more important to focus upon the individual employee than on trends or overall statistics. Managing Short-Term Sickness Ergonomists will advise on how to change aspects of the working environment to improve attendance and performance; but from a practical employment law perspective the following guidance is pertinent to the management of absence from the workplace. We’ve all experienced it at one time or another during our working life - “I’m not feeling too good today, can I be bothered to go to work or not?” and levels of short term absence in a business depend on each individual’s answer to this question. In many cases where the employee is motivated, committed, conscientious etc. the answer is going to be “OK, I’m a bit under the weather, but I’m well enough to go in.” For others, however, where the motivation and commitment are just not there, the more likely outcome is “I’m ill; I can’t be bothered; I’m not going in.” With some employees an employer can never do enough to get them to choose the first option. The employees don’t have any commitment to the job and would rather be doing something, anything, else. Hopefully this doesn’t describe any of your own employees. In these cases all you can do is to monitor the absences, record the details, hold return to work interviews, and, when the absence level becomes unsatisfactory, take disciplinary action. This same monitoring, recording, return to work contact, and formal action process is, however, equally important in all cases of unplanned absence. Implement Processes For the majority of employees this process directly influences their decision “to attend or not to attend”. In brief: • Make it known that you actively record and monitor absences. • Actively and consistently carry out ‘return to work’ interviews after every absence. • Follow a fair procedure and, where appropriate, take disciplinary action against those employees who fall short of the attendance standards. • Ensure that employees are aware of the impact of their absence, both on customers or clients, and on their work colleagues. • Treat employees in the same way as you would expect to be treated. To read the rest of this article visit our blog at www.doorindustryjournal.blogspot.com and search “Sickness and Absence”