MANUAL HANDLING HEALTH & SAFETY INFO

The health and safety of all its workers is paramount to Top Job Recruitment Limited. Whilst it is the client’s responsibility, under the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974, to provide a safe and healthy working environment, Top Job Recruitment has a duty of care to its temporary workers to ensure that they are aware of health and safety issues.

As a temporary worker your most important responsibilities are:

1 a. Avoid wearing jewellery or loose clothing and keep long hair tucked out of the way. b. To take reasonable care not to put other people - fellow employees and members of the public - at risk. c. To cooperate with your employer, making sure that you get proper training and that you understand and follow the company’s health and safety policy/policies.

To take reasonable care of your own health and safety.

2 Not to interfere with or misuse anything that’s been provided for your health, safety or welfare. 3

To report any injuries, strains or illnesses you suffer as a result of doing your job. 4

To tell your employer if something happens that might affect your ability to work (e.g. becoming pregnant or suffering an injury). 5

If you drive or operate machinery, to tell your employer if you take medication that makes you drowsy.

Clients will have their own Health and Safety policies but most of the following general safety rules will be in place and must be observed by all workers

More than a third of all “over-three-day” injuries reported each year to the enforcing authorities are caused by manual handling – the transporting or supporting of loads by hand or by bodily force.

The Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 require employers to:

AVOID the need for hazardous manual handling, so far as is reasonably practicable;

ASSESS the risk of injury from any hazardous manual handling that can’t be avoided

REDUCE the risk of injury from hazardous manual handling, so far as is reasonably practicable.

You need to assess the task, load, working environment and individual capacity.

There is no such thing as a completely ‘safe’ manual handling operation, but working within the following guidelines will cut the risk and reduce the likelihood of injury.

Manual handling will be eliminated where possible with the use of mechanical lifting equipment; if not possible the risk of injury will be reduced with the use of handling aids such as pallet trucks, sack barrows and trolleys etc.

Where manual lifting is required, care must be taken especially whilst lifting products over 25kg and assistance must be sought. Assess the weight properly before lifting and where appropriate PPE, gloves are a requirement for this operation.

If you believe that you are at serious risk of an injury then don’t lift, seek guidance and assistance from the supervisor.

Factors that affect likelihood of injury…

Weight of load

Size and shape of load

Posture during manual handling

The distance to lift