There is a famous story from the UK of the school which required pupils playing conkers to wear safety glasses – this spawned the term ‘Bonkers Conkers’ red-top headline, and let to an outcry against ‘health & safety madness’. In this instance, as is often the case, health and safety was not the reason for the decision. The head teacher was responding to a memo from the local county council about ‘dangerous break time activities’ which highlighted how the council could be liable if something went wrong. A number of injury claims had already been processed. The goggles were more of a safety precaution for the council than they were for the children and were a direct reaction to litigation rather than a safety based precaution. So the headlines should really have cried outrage against solicitors and the legal system and the mentality of certain people who believe that someone else is always at fault and someone has to pay for it.
The Institution of Occupational Safety and Health – IOSH – which is a worldwide organisation with almost 2,000 members in the Republic of Ireland, has reacted to the media hype. IOSH president Lisa Fowlie said recently: “Play is a key way of educating children about risk. Risk is a part of life, and a big part of growing up is learning what the risks are in an activity and how to manage those risks.”
The Health and Safety Executive in the UK’s reaction was also rational and sensible, they stated “If kids deliberately hit each other over the head with conkers, that’s a discipline issue, not health and safety.” One of the tag lines from the HSENI (Health and Safety Executive Northern Ireland) proclaims that that they are ‘Protecting Lives – Not Stopping Them’ The Health and Safety Authority (HSA) in the Republic of Ireland recommends a risk assessment based approach, where hazards are identified, evaluated and appropriate controls are put in place – not outright bans or prohibitions, but a measured approach.
Health and Safety does occasionally, but on rare occasions, push for a ban on activities or substances – asbestos is a good example – but only when there is a genuine danger which cannot be adequately controlled. With proper, competent risk assessment and control measures your Business should be able to continue your activities without too many impediments.
For a quick assessment to see how safe an activity is, ask yourself five questions:
- Is there anything in the activity that could cause harm?
- Who could be harmed and how?
- How bad would the harm be?
- How likely is this to happen anyway?
- What do I need to do to prevent it happening?
Sensible Safety risk management is about making sure you can carry out your business or activities whilst being protected from injury, ill health or litigation. Making people responsible and aware of their own safety and that of others affected by their acts or omissions. It is not realistic or possible to create a completely risk free environment and we should not be exaggerating or scaring people and restricting their activities unnecessarily.
At Peninsula Business Services (Ireland) Ltd we advocate a Health and Safety Made Simple philosophy and believe in a practical and common sense approach to health and safety – contact us on 01 855 4861 for more information.
Brendan Hanratty is a Chartered Health & Safety Practitioner working with Peninsula Business Services (Ireland) Ltd; who are Ireland’s leading provider of employment law and health & safety services. Established in Ireland since 1997, we have thousands of businesses who have already integrated Peninsula to work as part of their HR and Health & Safety departments. With offices in Dublin, Belfast, Sydney and Manchester, Peninsula employs over 1000 people across Ireland, Australia and the UK. - See more at: https://www.peninsulagrouplimited.com/ie/
