That is the simple answer that was given by one Police force following a case where a venue in Liverpool received a visit during Tier 2 restrictions to find a number of staff members having a ‘staff drink’ at 01.30am. Each staff member received a £200.00 fixed penalty and the premises ‘may’ have the licence reviewed!https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/staff-fined-drinking-city-centre-19529749
“Staff at any venue are subject to COVID rules, the staff are basically socialising outside of the permitted family bubbles”
So HSADD Ltd advise to venue operators is clear, Staff drinks at the venue, after work cannot be justified and will breach the guidelines so don’t risk it as the staff can get a fine and the venue a fine/review – and everyone is having the worst trading conditions ever without getting either of these enforcement actions!
This is very disappointing for venues who respect the work that the staff do to bring the night together, however, the Hospitality industry has been the focus of attention for the last 12 months and the last thing we all need is further attention to the industry.
LOOKING TO THE FUTURE OF PAPERLESS AND CONTACTLESS CHECKLISTS
Whether it is the NHS or facilities Management, home care for the elderly or infirmed or care homes, everyone at some point have checklists that they complete, this is normally on paper – not counting clinical notes.
Toilet facility Management
The variety is vast, from simple toilet checks, floor cleaning records, open and closing records, vehicle and equipment checks, fridge temperature checks for medical storage fridges or food storage.
Every piece of paper can pass between seven people and hold Corvid-19 virus for up to 3 days
washroom facility paper checklist
The paper checklists are not only holding untold virus and bacterial content rendering them a good transported for infection, but they are also technically worthless to defend any claim for litigation against your business.
The entries are more often wrong, the times are never accurate, the person who has completed the check cannot often be identified, IF they are missed the Management do not know the checks haven’t been completed until many days even after they should have been!
QR Code – Facilities Management
The checklist can be replaced with a simple QR code attached to the wall outside the facility, whether it’s toilets, fridges, car park, corridors, lifts in fact anything or anywhere you need a checklist completing.
The QR code is then scanned by a mobile phone or any internet-connected device, like a small tablet, once scanned then the report is available on the device, it is completed and submitted. The report is then available 0.75 seconds later from anywhere in the world (see our short video)
Meeting staff and customers
As you start to reopen your businesses, things like social distancing, hand washing, temperature checks, alcohol gel placements are all going to have to be checked and recorded, IF you don’t keep good records this may make you liable to claims from both staff and customers alike.
Why not make it as easy as possible to keep these records?
ISITCHECKED can do all this for you and store the records in our cloud-based system.
ZERO cross-contamination between people
ZERO paper handling
Eliminating up to seven people handling a piece of paper
ZERO Paper buying, printing or storage costs
Instant access to multiple report formats and export to PDF
Automatic Time, date and GPS stamp
Fast, almost instant change or add to checklists remotely
Do you expect that you will just flip a switch to turn the lights on and start working as you did on 22nd March 2020?
You could not be further from the truth and here at HSADD we have been looking deeper into the things that you may have to do different, not only to prevent cross-contamination but under Insurance warranties, H.S.E requirements and any ‘New’ Corvid laws that may come in.
Not taking into account of any ‘social distancing rules’, which could place capacity values to 1 person per 4m2 – how can you even have a conversation with someone 2 metres away with music playing? It’s just not practical, it’s positively ‘Un-sociable’ under the normal ‘having a night out’ situation.
It comes as the Trade Unions Congress (TUC) has urged businesses desperate to resume trading to take caution.
It is calling for “tough new measures” to ensure that all employers carry out a risk assessment before lockdown measures are lifted and staff return to work.
TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady told the BBC’s Today programme: “Everybody wants people to get back to work safely so that we can get the economy back on its feet”.
“But workers have to know and be confident, that their health and safety is being put first. Otherwise, we’re going to see this virus spread again and we’ll be back to square one.” (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-52438693)
Having spoken to Insurance Companies, who may have to pay out over £1.2 BILLION! The insurance Companies will need to re balance the books and that can only come from the customer in increased premiums, increased claim excesses and less flexibility with claims.!
Stricter Insurance terms are more than likely
The enforcement of T&C’s is likely to be ruthless, making sure that your staff are fully trained, that records are kept to high standards will all be examined by Claims Departments looking to reduce the payout, use your excess or at worse reject the claim back to you because you are in breach the T&C’s!
Thorough record keeping can protect your business
Don’t wait until you only have a couple of weeks notice to get up and running, advanced preparation and putting in place your H&S, staff training, record-keeping systems, like ISITCHECKED paperless and contact-less checklist system to remove possible viral transfer, are an absolute must AND they can be prepared well in advance!You will have enough to do to get open and dealing with this element now is one job less to deal with.
Whether it’s staff training, Health & Safety Policy, real-time checklists, Fire Risk assessments, HSADD Ltd has a digital cloud-based solution for you, which includes contactless checklists and staff training reducing transfer contamination risk.
How can you risk assess and reduce the contact risk of Corvid-19 and similar viruses that can be passed through contact?
The biggest way to remove a ‘risk’ is to remove the cause of the risk altogether.
That is what ISITCHECKED, paperless, real-time and contactless checklist systems do already.
Let’s look at a normal checklist on paper:
Office staff print out the forms
The manager passes the checklist form to the employee
An employee takes the form and starts to complete it
IF more than one employee completes the form then they handle it
A member of the public see’s the form on the wall, looks at it, sneezes – contaminates it further
The employee completes the form, hands it back to maybe another Manager, they check the form
The Manager hands it to admin staff, they file it in a box
ISITCHECKED – Paperless real-timer system
QR Code is placed on the item or near the item to be checked
A staff member uses own mobile and ISITCHECKED App to scan the code
Completes the checklist, submits the report
Report is filed
FINISHED
No handling of paper = reduced risk of contact, cross-contamination no one in the sequences has to touch anything they don’t personally own – AND the APP is free for all users
This seems to be a total anomaly of ‘justice’ and very much an imbalance.
I have covered the issues surround involvement of S.I.A Security staff in stopping fights and then their involvement leads to prosecution or loss of badge. In some areas of the UK, it is a total ‘NO WIN’ situation, in other words, you cannot do right for doing wrong.
I have just been looking through the details from a case in 2019, two groups of males started fighting with each other outside a venue, within feet of the Security team, both groups had been refused entry due to conduct and behaviour.
The Security team stepped in, and as expected, became the focus of attention from the more aggressive group, the result was over in 2-3 minutes without any injuries, one of the security team was over-enthusiastic and his actions could be considered an assault (if he actually made contact with anyone) (despite no complaint)! the other was more defendable as he was clearly controlled and defending a member of the public.
The inbalance
In this case, the persons who were without any doubt the aggressors and the people who started the fighting received an £80.00 Police fixed penalty notice. Done and finished
The two Security staff – both lost their badge and with it their job with an income loss of around £250.00 per week. To me, this does not seem to be a ‘fair and just’ outcome by any means and whilst I agree that the conduct of Security staff must be exemplary, the delays investigation and the speed at which the badge is removed leads to the Security staff being ‘guilty’ and having to prove his innocence, rather than the principle of Innocent until proved guilty.
It seems that neither the Police or S.I.A (Security Industries Association) have not taken into consideration the impact of the suspension of the security staff badge and right to work, they clearly announce ‘Guilty’ until proved innocent.
I would welcome any comments or experiences of this, particularly if you are from the Merseyside area where there seems to be a higher than normal rate of ‘suspensions’ requested by Merseyside Police.
In 1993 I started working in a Night-club in North Wales, the premises had ‘issues’ with the Police and Licensing Authority that needed fixing. I was able to bring a couple of totally off the wall solutions that not only fixed the problem but over the following years turned the venue into a massive success – weekly hours worked around 50-70 hours per week!
2001 I moved and bought a share in a large Liverpool based venue, this again was doing two things – 1. expanding, 2. having issues with Police and Local Authority (same senior Directors – same issues)! – Average hours now 80-90 to 110 hours per week.!
Again – new solutions and bring the venue from the ‘old’ ways to the ‘new ways’.
2005 – We are suffering a huge hike in Insurance claims, almost one per day, 90% claims are fake (remember the Accident Group), our excess is now £5,000.00 per claim and insurance renewal excess of £78,000.00, changes HAD to be made rapidly.
2005 I become a Consultant for a Compliance Management system that covers Health & Safety, Fire risk assessment, Risk assessments, staff training and much more. I introduce a total accident and reporting system, everything that occurs gets reported and investigated. I am now able to start defending these claims.
2006 – After a huge row with our insurers over the settlement of fake claims I had had enough and I change over to NDML Insurance, our agent Mike Dawson, promised faithfully that they had a different approach and defended cases strongly, WHAT A DIFFERENCE THAT MADE!
By this time if we get a claim for slip/trip I can immediately (15 minutes is close enough), I was able to provide from the Cloud around 120 pages of due diligence, staff training, checks, maintenance etc
2007 to 2018 – NOT one claim has been paid out in 11 years after we defended the first two claims then the number of claims received dropped off a cliff, I realised that the Insurance Companies who provided ‘after event’ insurance must have realised we strongly defended and went elsewhere to easier targets
Paper checklist -v- ISITCHECKED
2014 – I took part in the development of ISITCHECKED, our own real-time checklist system, this really closed the loop on potential claims. As an example, if you have a paper list in a toilet people will check the toilet and sign a piece of paper every half hour, 6 hours open 12 checks signed. With ISITCHECKED, you have a QR code outside the toilet, any staff checking the toilets, whether cleaners, security or managers scan and record a check. So 6 hours open around 84 different checks, so only minutes apart, all signed and time-stamped with GPS tag.
One of the unexpected results from ISITCHECKED system is that unlike a paper checklist no-one can see when the toilet or other check has been done, so if a Manager checks the toilets for instance 5 minutes after a cleaner and then a member of security checks 2 minutes later all three have recorded their checks in the past 10 minutes.
So IF you want to be as claim-free as possible, reduce claims against your business, reduce your insurance premiums, stop paying insurance excesses then get in touch!
This also applies if you have had conditions placed on your premises licence by the Police or LA that you need to evidence that you have completed, this system, if used correctly, will give you the protection you need.
It is without now really apparent that with few other things to tax and the raising of global warming issues throughout the world that Governments will be looking to raise revenue from businesses and individuals
UK Government is already ramping up the pressure on diesel car owners making it more and more difficult for owners to their vehicles through the MOT test, this effectively causes the owner to sell the car at pennies and buy a new one.
All ‘New’ petrol or hybrid vehicles have road tax applied unless it is fully electric, then the road tax is free – at the moment! Sooner or later when everyone has slipped into fully electric cars then they will need to recover the lost taxes, ‘Carbon Tax’ will then really start cutting in.
First will be Businesses, starting at the bigger ones first, on top of your tax returns you will be asked to show your ‘Carbon’ footprint, then a value will be attached to those using X carbon per year. To counter this (like VAT input/output) you will show your carbon savings, all of which will be subject to auditing!
All security staff have faced the same question, which at the time they don’t pause to think about the consequences of what is sure to come next.
A fight breaks out between two or three groups of people, they are 10 to 12 in number and it is less than two metres from your premises, someone hits the floor and the pack set on him/her with kicks and stamping or weapons.
What do you do?? Intervene or let that person suffer huge injuries or even lose their life
Most times these decisions occur in milliseconds, The security team step in to save the person and try and stop the fight. You know what happens next? Now your fighting with the whole lot of them.
The fight has stopped, hopefully, none of the security team is injured, then the Police turn up!
First thing that is requested is the CCTV, then they speak to the D.P.S, then they speak to the Head of security, then the local Police Licensing unit arrives and they take over – at this stage they are looking at the conduct of the Security staff and whether or not they went too far, used excessive force etc.
Let us look at common sense and realistic approach, 1. ‘Most security staff’ work this job as the main job, 2. They train hard and keep themselves fit, 3. they train in some sort of martial art, 4. they are sober! The Security team should have come off better and the ones who wanted and started to fight have lost and are now wanting to make a complaint to the Police.
LAW
As a member of the public you are permitted to ‘prevent a breach of the peace’ which dates back to 1361., this is a common-law offence and that means that any person can try and stop this and has the power under the law, to do so.
In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, breach of the peace is descended from the Justices of the Peace Act 1361,[10] which refers to riotous and barratous behaviour that disturbs the peace of the King. More modern authority defines a breach of the peace as “when a person reasonably believes harm will be caused, or is likely to be caused, to a person or in his presence to his property, or a person is in fear of being harmed through an assault, affray, riot, unlawful assembly, or some other form of disturbance”. (Wikipedia)
You are also permitted to defend yourself against an attack (Self defence) or the defence of another. This does not give you the permission to use excessive force, the law has a line and IF you cross it you will find the Police will be glad to help you to the cell!
The right way
There is the question I have been asked so many times and the problem is not just a legal answer it is also ethical and moral. Too many times in my 30 years of working busy venues has taught me a lot of things – but never the right answer to whether or not to tell the security to intervene. I have been told too many times to remember the number by Police Licensing in Merseyside that the Security should ‘NOT LEAVE THE STEP’. ‘Sorry Officer to contradict your ‘request’ but me personally I cannot stand by and see some 18-year-old getting pasted in front of me!’
I would not let a Police Officer take a beating either and to be honest, I would not sleep at night by ignoring this sort of incident, so the suggestion by the Police is sometimes not the best or involving any sort of thought process, what if the same officer dispensing such advice found himself in front of you taking a beating and standing there saying ‘If only I could leave the step’.
I have been called upon as a consultant by a number of venues who have staff that have intervened and then been threatened with prosecution for Affray and assaults and have to explain that this is all about ‘excessive use of force’ and if it helps one person to read this and keep out of trouble then this post was worth it!
Self-defence – The SECOND that the attacker has backed away or is under restraint on the floor or upright then YOU CAN NOT KEEP HITTING HIM/HER. IF you hit them just once more you CANNOT use self-defence, this becomes an assault by YOU. You can only use sufficient force to stop the attack on you or another person that’s it plain and simple.
The same applies to the incident we made up!! Earlier, once they are not fighting with you or others, or you restrain the person then that is the end of the power you have, you can’t ‘punish’ the person and that is when it takes the control and professionalism that you should show and lets face it if a sober highly trained member of security can’t restrain a drunken 18-year-old without punching him then I would have them consider a different career!
There is no linear line here on this subject, even the High Courts cannot give a definitive answer to what is excessive force, so to try and give some understanding, iF you are trying to take down a fully trained SAS officer in his prime then you would need to use more force than on an 18 year old 10 stone wet student? That is the best analogy – Be professional and treat each person as if they were your little brother or sister.
If your staff could use some ‘common sense’ training please feel free to contact me, with 30 years plus licensing experience I can help with a wealth of advice, if your an existing Client then this training may fall under part of your subscription
I haven’t posted any HR posts for a while so here we go.
Was a dismissal for trade union activities automatically unfair because of the involvement of a senior manager, when both managers who heard the disciplinary and appeal hearings were ‘innocent’ of this?
The Claimant, a gas engineer, was dismissed for gross misconduct because he responded to a call-out for a gas leak one minute outside the Respondent’s policy. He brought a claim that his dismissal was due to his trade union activity. The Claimant had 29 years’ service and an unblemished record. He was also a health and safety representative and trade union shop steward. He had previously raised a number of grievances that he had been unfairly allocated work. On the day of the call-out he had worked on a complex and demanding job, had not eaten all day, and had less than 2 hours’ sleep. On his way to the call-out he had stopped to get food.
The tribunal upheld the Claimant’s claim. It noted that a senior manager, the subject of some of the Claimant’s complaints, had driven the investigation towards dismissal. Although he was not the investigating officer, he had amended the terms of reference and given incorrect information to HR, and he told the Claimant that the case was one of gross misconduct before the investigation had concluded.
The Respondent appealed. The tribunal had found that the managers at the disciplinary and appeal stages had no prejudice against the Claimant because of his trade union activities. The Respondent argued that only the ‘mental processes’ of the decision-makers could be considered.
Following Royal Mail Group v Jhuti, the EAT rejected the appeal. It held that there are circumstances where the motivation and knowledge of someone who is not a decision-maker may be attributed to the employer if (as here) that person is engaged in and had manipulated the investigatory process
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