Warehouse managers need to act now to protect themselves against new breeds of occupational disease claims, warns Norwich Union Risk Services.
Warehouse managers need to act now to protect themselves against new breeds of occupational disease claims, warns Norwich Union Risk Services.
New regulations being introduced because of the EU Directive on Physical Agents (Vibration) will make it easier for employees to sue for damages.
The proposed regulations, which go out for consultation this month will require employers to identify where workers are at risk from whole body vibration (WBV) – a condition that can result in back pain and injury – and take active steps to reduce their exposure to a minimum level. Failure to comply can result in criminal prosecutions.
Teresa Budworth, training and consultancy manager at Norwich Union Risk Services, said: “Warehouse managers need to act now as fork lift truck drivers are at risk from vibration through the seat or feet. Drivers of some mobile machines, including certain fork lift trucks, may be exposed to WBV and shocks which are associated with back pain, especially when they drive a vehicle regularly for most of the day.
“Waiting until this directive becomes law may be too late as the cost of legal action could put smaller firms out of business. Employees who develop whole body vibration can find themselves permanently disabled. They can already sue their employer for negligence but the new regulations will simply make it easier for a civil action to be brought by spelling out exactly what is expected of the employer.
“Implementing job rotation, carrying out driver training and regularly maintaining vehicles are just some of the steps we’d advise warehouse managers to take to minimise vibration.”
For more information on how to conduct a risk assessment, contact the Norwich Union Risk Services team on 0500 55 99 77.
-ends-
For further information,
please contact:
Alison Owen or Debbie Wells at Staniforth on 0161 274 0100 or
David Ross at Norwich Union on 08703 66 68 65/07786 526350.
Notes to editors
- Norwich Union is the UK’s largest insurer with a market share of around 16 per cent and is more than 1.5 times the size of its nearest rival. It is also the largest personal lines insurer.
- It has a focus on insurance for individuals and small businesses. It insures:
- one in five households
- one in five motor vehicles
- more than 700,000 businesses
- Norwich Union products are available through a variety of distribution channels including brokers, corporate partners such as banks and building societies and Norwich Union Direct.
- Norwich Union’s news releases and a selection of images are available on the Aviva internet press centre at www.aviva.com/media.
- An ISDN facility is available for studio quality interviews. Call the press office on 08703 66 68 68
For all life & pensions media enquiries 08703 66 68 73
For all other media enquiries 08703 66 68 68
- Norwich Union Risk Services is the division of Norwich Union dedicated to providing training and consultancy services on a range of health, safety and environmental issues within the workplace.
- Services are tailored to meet each client’s specific requirements.
- Clients include numerous FTSE 100 listed companies, major insurers and local authorities including police, fire and ambulance services.