Thread: Facing dismissal after accident at work left me unable to do job.

Are you a member of an union?

What were the circumstances of your accident? Were there any H&S failures and were HSE informed? What is the prognosis for your injury and is there any hope of a possible date for you to return to work? Also, importantly, how long have you worked for this employer?

Your employer will find it difficult to just 'get rid of you' and there should be a number of stages for them to go through before that becomes a possibility. They should not dismiss you for being off sick, but could invoke a capability procedure if they believe that you are unfit to do your job. Capability on the grounds of ill health should involve medical reports, discussion with you and consideration as to whether you might be able to resume work in another role.

Originally Posted by patdavies

Sorry, but from your explanation, it is most definitely a H&S issue. Quite simply, long loads like that should not be carried by one person - and I'm willing to bet that there isn't a risk assessment in place anyway.

And since you have been off-work for more than 3 days the HSE must be informed by law (RIDDOR)

Thanks Pat - absolutely where I was coming from!

RIDDOR places a legal responsibility on employers to report any injury, resulting in either an absence from work for three days or more, or an injury which results in an employee being unable to carry our their full range of duties for more than three days, to the local enforcing authority within ten days of the injury occurring. It matters not a jot that HSE may have passed the company's working practices as safe prior to the incident, there is a legal duty for what has happened to be investigated and action taken to prevent a similar occurrence in the future. The company may have an immaculate collection of Risk Assessments on hand to cater for every process possible and every piece of equipment in use, but that does not matter. What does is that something has happened which could have been prevented, and should be preventable in the future if corrective action is now taken. Remember - there is no such thing as an accident - it is merely an unforeseen occurrence, but which had it been foreseen the effect could have been minimised.

Believe you me I am no fan of the much publicised 'claims culture' or ambulance chasing lawyers, but I really think that you need to look to your own needs, particularly if, as you suspect, that your employer may be looking to get rid of you. Certainly this was a freak event which may well have been a once in a blue moon incident, but nevertheless it happened and you would not have been injured if measures were in place to minimise the effect of the ladder being blown back. In recent years I have seen incidents involving an employee listening to an iPOD and walking in front of a pallet truck, an employee injured whilst closing a shutter with a forklift, and another who suffered injury to his knees through standing for too long on a hard floor. In two of those cases the injury was entirely the employee's fault, but all three successfully claimed for compensation as the employer had not predicted that the incident or injury could occur and put measures in place to minimise the risk.

It isn't about whether the company has been good to you in the past either. They can be the best employer in the world, but the fact is that you have received potentially a life-changing injury whilst carrying out work on their behalf. There is no need to fall out with them over this either - it is about your future, and there are laws which would prevent them from being vindictive if they chose to anyway. Never mind about an insurance claim for IPI - you need to make enquiries about the possibility of claiming for loss of earnings both past and future and to compensate for the damage and disruption caused to your life. In the first instance you should ask whether the incident was reported to HSE (or the local Environmental Health) under RIDDOR and ask for details. I would hazard a guess that it wasn't as you would have been questioned about it long before now. Whether it was or wasn't you should phone the Incident Contact Centre on 0845 3009 923 for advice, or complete the details of the incident online

Take it from there - you may well end up speaking to a specialist injury lawyer - I am sure that you have seen the adverts!

Hi Davieg,

I can see where your coming from, on one side you don't want to fall out with what, has been to now, a reasonable employer. On the other hand, your future is now in jeopardy. You have to look after yourself. You are getting some outstanding advice here. My advice to you would be to use it and safeguard yourself and your family.

Lex