Safety, Health & Welfare at Work (General Applications), Regulations 2007,

There are three sections of the Safety, Health & Welfare at Work (General Applications), Regulations 2007, that are directly relevant to seating.

Section 18 (c ) (i) states that suitable facilities for sitting are provided and maintained for their use,

Section 30 (b) in the case of work equipment which is exposed to conditions causing deterioration liable to result in a danger to safety or health-

(i) periodic inspections and, where appropriate, testing is carried out.

(iii) deterioration is detected and remedied in good time,

(c) inspections carried out by a competent person

(d) results of inspections are recorded and kept available for 5 years

 

Section 31 (c) work equipment is maintained in such a way as to reduce the risks to users

 

 

CASE STUDY 1

Law Bulletin – July 2009

Inspection of chairs:

This case is about the common law duty to inspect and the similar duty under the Occupiers Liability Act.

A swimming pool had lots of second hand plastic chairs. The claimant sat on one and it snapped and she fell to the ground. The defendant said that they had a system of inspecting chairs but had no documents to back that up. The pool man just said the system was to report faults if staff found them. After the accident, all he had done was collect the chairs and put it in the bin. He did not inspect it or any other chairs in light of the accident but just decided to get rid of them all later that summer. The judge found there was no system of inspection at all and was critical of the response to the accident stating that collapsing chairs had the potential for serious injury. Judgement for the claimant.

Sunderland County Court, 22 June 2009

 

 

CASE STUDY 2

Recently, an Air Quality employee was sitting in her office chair when one leg of the 5-legged base broke. The chair toppled and the employee fell to the floor striking her left arm and thigh. Luckily, she only experienced soreness in her arm and thigh. Luckily, she only experienced soreness in her arm and thigh. Close inspection of the 5 legged base found that the 5 legged base of the chair was of cast aluminium construction and one leg had severed, as though it had been cut evenly . Could this have been detected during a period inspection? We’re not sure. However, when making a periodic inspection of chairs don’t forget to inspect for cracks or stresses in the base of the chair.

 

CASE STUDY 3

Personal Injury Claims Ireland

Your employer owes you a duty of care to keep you reasonably safe at work, and all appropriate actions should be taken to prevent accidents from occurring.

Although your employer should have conducted regular inspections of all office equipment and workstations, you also have responsibilities regarding your own personal safety at work.