Manual Handling in Work

dan786

Hi Guys,

I work in a retail store and a couple of days back I has to lift a very heavy bag from a shopping trolley. We normally lift boxes / bags in work but this time around as it was from a trolley, a very bad pain developed in my shoulder and is still there two days later.

We were never given any manual handling guidelines or training. Does the employer have to provide this? Also if there is a permanent injury, will the employer be liable?

Thanks.

Mrs OBumble

dan786 wrote: »

Also if there is a permanent injury, will the employer be liable?

MOD NOTE: please be aware tha twe cannot advise you about liability - that's legal advice, which you need to get from a lawyer. All we can do is discuss the issue and employer's responsibilities in general.



That said - what does your employee manual etc say about lifting, and also about reporting injuries? Have you reported the incident to your manager?

dan786

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

MOD NOTE: please be aware tha twe cannot advise you about liability - that's legal advice, which you need to get from a lawyer. All we can do is discuss the issue and employer's responsibilities in general.



That said - what does your employee manual etc say about lifting, and also about reporting injuries? Have you reported the incident to your manager?

Yes it has been reported to Manager and Area manager. The manager just said ok take a painkiller. Still awaiting a reply from Area manager.

There is nothing in the employee manual about manual handling. The pain is still there after two days. I have been using painkillers and gels like Voltoral and Heat Spray.

MarkAnthony

Any General Practice solicitor will advise on this, most for free. Really with information so readily available from trained professionals asking anyone else is redundant.

If this forum is anything like Legal Discussions you're going to get a large number of people whinging on about 'compo culture' without a clue as how modern tort law has impacted their lives positively.

Youngblood.III

From HSA website;

"There are four key requirements::

Avoidance of Manual Handling
Reduction of Manual Handling
Risk Assessment of Manual Handling Tasks
Provision of Instruction and training for relevant employees"

"Manual Handling is a physical activity that takes place in every workplace, and in some cases the activity does not pose a problem. However it can be a potential workplace hazard when an employee for example is required to handle heavy loads, which could result in a back injury.
It will be necessary to carry out a risk assessment of existing manual handling tasks before making an informed decision on which manual handling tasks need to be avoided or reduced. Employers must then take steps to avoid or reduce the risk of injury"

Borzoi

dan786 wrote: »

We were never given any manual handling guidelines or training. Does the employer have to provide this? Also if there is a permanent injury, will the employer be liable?
.

Most employers provide manual handling training to protect the employee but primarily to protect the company in the event of injury. In construction you won't get onto a site without a safepass and a manual handling cert. Make of that what you will.

Frigga_92

I'd be surprised if manual handling wasn't a requirement in retail as I'm sure you do a lot of lifting and bending etc, although I don't know for certain as I have never worked in retail.
As was said already above, if the injury appears to be persisting, it might be necessary to speak to a solicitor, most will do the initial consultation (and maybe even a little bit of leg work) free of charge.