■■■■■■■ feel like a school boy with this mob i work for!
So background story is…
I work for morrisons/tescos/asda take your pick from one of them but its a supermarket anyway (being vague incase the wrong person reads)
Delivery completed at store, the manager insisted on sealing the trailer (roller shutter door). Anyway he was struggling to close it, its a old trailer and there is a bit of a knack where you pull the handle then close. So i put my hand in the wrong place kind of gesturing how to do it and he shut it along with my finger
Thought i just nipped it really badly so didn’t make a fuss. That night it was still sore, work the next day it was still sore and moving cages etc it was agony.
So when i got back i said is there any chance of taking the rest of the week as holidays, they asked why and i said i caught my finger at a store yesterday. They agreed but nipped my head that i should have reported it when it happened.
Went to casualty after work as my finger was looking a right dodgy colour and i was paranoid it was going to fall off anyway x-ray and it was broken.
When i came back to work the following week it was still sore but manageable whilst taped up. Then i get hit with a disciplinary letter for failing to report a personal accident at the time it occurred. Ive been here a year fulltime, could i get sacked for this?
Now i wasn’t going to claim, it kinda goes against my nature of not wanting to make a fuss. But i was raging when they gave me this letter and if this hearing goes against me then maybe i should out of spite
If you get sacked because someone else broke your finger and you just got on with the job, you’ve got a story to sell to The Sun!
But no, I’d imagine you’ll just get told off for not reporting it when it happened because if you’d died of a broken finger they’d want to know who to blame. Pathetic really.
Are you a union member? If not, why not? If you are, see your rep a sap and get him/ her involved to nip this in the bud.
If you’re not a member then play dumb, tell your Co that THEY never gave you adequate training re notifiable accidents and as such you were unsure as how to proceed at the time of the the accident and it’s only later having realised the severity that you shall be seeking legal advice.
Bollox to them mate, they quote all this H&S guff when it suits them, use their own rules as a stick to beat them with.
Take somebody with you as a witnes. Are you in a union/is there a shop steward where you work? Delay the disciplinary to a later date to arrange a witnes/prepare your case. You are entitled to a witnes. Do not go without one.
I hope not, in this Health an Safety mad world report everything that happens, they hate it but they are the people who put most of the inane regulations in place. They only do it because the HandS people tell them they have to, most employers don’t give a ■■■■ about staff welfare and only supply the Hand S basics because law states that they have to, most places do the bare minimum and just to protect their own backs.
I have worked for a number of Nationwide large companies when I have had accidents (through no fault of my own) caused by their malfunctioning equipment, and because I am agency they have tried to brush it under the carpet, even though I just sustained bruising, one of the incidents could have killed me but for the luck of, and the management at the depot were not even going to file a near miss event!!! Cover your arse report it all. The fact is you should not have to deal with poor quality doors and it should have been defected and rectified… but that’s another story tell them that at the Disciplinary!!
ALL accidents/ injuries however minor should be reported in the accident book. In this case the stores accident book. A broken finger is not a notifiable injury to the HSE under RIDDOR.
It will be the breach in company health and safety policy you will get slapped hands for. As stated before put the ball back in their court about the inadequate training in the companies health and safety policy. Have you received a copy of the company H & S policy or has it been made clear what it contains? Do you have a staff handbook with the information readily available? If the answer to those is no then the company who I assume are a big one needs to look seriously at their H & S training.
ALWAYS ALWAYS report an accident no matter how minor, in this case the Manager should have known to call the stores First Aider and had it recorded in the accident book.
If the Company wants to give you more than a verbal,presuming you are in a Union,get your Union rep to ask them if the Manager is being disciplined for not doing his job properly by not recording an accident.
all over the top and you will prob find that you may get a verbal notice or just something noted on your file,
however play em at there own game, why was a manager closing a truck door that he probably as not had any training on, and why didn’t he report it as he was a manager? it doesn’t have to be the injured person to report a work place accident.
either way i wouldn’t worry about it jumping though hoops really, but these places really need to look at their procedures and see how these ad hoc disciplinary s do absolutely nothing but ■■■■ staff off
When i did cages and dollies for TK Maxx & Boots, it was absolutely not for the store manager (or ANY of his staff) to touch any part of the truck - ONLY to slip the seal through after it had been closed by the DRIVER, and record the number.
If he took it on himself to start ■■■■■■■ about with the shutter door, i would suggest that he has breached his own company`s H&S bullcrap - and he caused a significant injury to you by not being trained or authorised to undertake that action, which only serves to add fuel to the fire.
I can see your outfit`s sanctimonious point regarding your delay in reporting the incident (insurance company paranoia most likely), but no more than a slap on the wrist and a low-level lecture i would think.
Dafproblems:
Now i wasn’t going to claim, it kinda goes against my nature of not wanting to make a fuss. But i was raging when they gave me this letter and if this hearing goes against me then maybe i should out of spite
In conclusion,
will i get sacked?
should i make a claim?
Yes you should make a claim. First thing to do though is go to work and record it in the accident book.
I once got my hand crushed in a clamp truck when I was delivering reels of paper to Watmaughs in Bradford. Never claimed and it was the stupidest thing I ever did along with not going to the hospital and just bandaging it up.
these internal health and safety questions can best be dealt with by a simple written statement
1 the people involved at incident you and store manager both felt it was a no incidence situation
2 the trailer age and condition was a factor and again both manager and yourself accepted vehicle condition as normal or within work parameters
3 you acted with your employers best interest and completed work and then attempted to work the next day
as soon as you were not able to work within company’s guidelines you asked for holiday leave
4 only when your injury became inflamed and discoloured you sought further medical advice whilst on leave
you returned to work and completed your duties as per standard work practise /guidelines
5 your line management were informed (as per your holiday request) of an injury at work and never asked for any accident report or advised you to report it
6 the delivery store manager again more experience in company health and safety policy felt no need to report the incident
you therefore feel the disciplinary action to be a surprise and hurtful to an employee who as you can see from this statement had only the companies interest at heart and would request that this incident highlights a training and policy area for the company to revise or renew policy regarding health and safety
hope this helps
I once got disciplined for not reporting getting cement dust in my eye even though I never felt it at the time. I felt it 60 mins later and reported it but cos I didn’t report it when I didn’t feel I had it in my eye I was a naughty boy.
My punishment was. I was advised in future to report stuff better.
Dafproblems:
Delivery completed at store, the manager insisted on sealing the trailer (roller shutter door). Anyway he was struggling to close it, its a old trailer and there is a bit of a knack where you pull the handle then close. So i put my hand in the wrong place kind of gesturing how to do it and he shut it along with my finger
will i get sacked?
should i make a claim?
More likely the store manager will get done for causing personal injury to yourself closing the trailer door, with all supermarket work I have done store staff shouldn’t be doing anything with the trailer. Why couldn’t he have let you shut it?
You’ll get a slap on the wrist. The whole charade of getting you disciplined for this just stinks of somebody trying to justify their job’s existence.
1.you broke company SSOW ( safe systems of work ) H&S procedure .
Because of this I would say you’ll get at worst a whiten warning on record for 6 months.
2. Take anyone with you as a whiteness but try for a union rep and make sure you have your own questions such as / what’s the procedure if back door staff are unable to close shutter etc.
3 don’t offer or elaborate any more info other than who’s happened , ie you assisted in closing the door as manager couldn’t do it.
4 making a claim could go against you and as you failed to follow H&S /SSOW you might find no one will touch it for a free blame to claim.
As the company are coming the arse, i’d now be inclined to start making a claim for industrial injury damages…it goes against the grain with the old school behaving like this cos we tend to just get on with it, but think on this…they started this not you.
maybe wait until after the hearing and, depending on the result… start a claim on the basis that the company want everything by the book… or forget it on the basis that common sense has prevailed.
I would guess that a broken finger could be worth £2000. and the proof of the accident is there because the company brought a disciplinary because of said accident.
Make sure you record everything on a mobile phone or dicataphone,in case it goes ■■■■ up,dont tell them.
make sure its recorded with minutes taken ,and take a union rep or somebody in with you,only discuss whats in the letter given to you nothing else. good luck!
You may get a written warning, you may not. But take someone in with you, you are allowed by law.
Do a written report on what happenend and hand it in.
Fill in accident book.
I know people moan about H+S & reporting stuff, but its there for a reason.
I followed my companies procedure by the book when I was injured and took legal action, they settled before court.
Am I missing something here
.
The Store Manager was present and was contributory to your injury and was fully aware of the incident - yes -
,
The Store Manager failed to request a designated 1st aider attend at the time and check your injury - unless you declined at the time, - or - ,
the Store Manager was a designated 1st aider and failed to check/treat/ advise you of due process (or you declined at the time) - yes
,
The Store Manager failed to file an injury report in-store taking your details at the time of the injury or within the required time slot -yes
.
You - the injured party - notified your line manager when the symptoms escalated and required further assessment/treatment - yes
…
Dont put your finger in strange places next time - Heres a copy of Co, procedure/policy - read it and keep it for reference, Hope it gets better soon - keep us notified of progress - anything we can do to help you at the moment ?
Dismissed -
… [b[u]]Store Manager -[/u]- Please come in, - a word in your shell like to explain yourself and your actions and tell us what you think Co. Policies are for and how you would go about the processes :[/b]mrgreen:
anyway x-ray and it was broken.
tell them that at the Disciplinary!!
good luck! 
