1.    What Are The Weight Lifting Limits For Males And Females?

There are no legally binding weight limits.  However Regulation 4(1) of the Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 sets safety standards for manual handling.

Your employer must:

·           avoid the need for manual handling as far as is reasonably practicable;

·         where that is not possible, assess the risk of injury to employees; and  

·         reduce the risk of injury from manual handling as far as is reasonably practicable.

Avoiding the Need for Manual Handling

Your employer must try to eliminate the need for manual lifting.  If this is not possible your employer should consider using mechanical lifting, for example by using a fork lift truck.

Assessing the Risk of Injuries to Employees

Under the 1992 Regulations your employer must carry out a risk assessment.  This must take into account the tasks; the loads involved; the working environment; an individual’s capacity; and whether movement is hindered by personal protective equipment or clothing.

Reducing the Risk of Injury

Your employer must reduce the risk from lifting as far as is reasonably practicable.  This means reducing the risk until the cost of further precautions - either in time, trouble or money - outweighs the benefits.  Your employer must consider using mechanical aids.  Even small measures such as a sack truck can reduce the risk of injury.

Your employer should also consider training in lifting technique. This should look at:

·         how to recognise potentially harmful manual lifts; 

·         training in good handling technique;

·         using mechanical aids; 

·         how to use any safety systems in place for preventing injury.

2.    What Are The Maximum And Minimum Temperatures For Working?

The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 (Regulation 7) require employers to ensure that the temperature in all workplaces during working hours is ‘reasonable’.

There is no legal definition for a maximum or minimum temperature.  However, the Workplace Regulations Approved Code of Practice states that the minimum temperature should normally be 16 degrees Celsius.  Where work is of a physical nature 13 degrees Celsius is allowed.  There is no recommended maximum temperature.

Where temperatures are likely to be high, employers should take ‘all reasonable steps’ to achieve a reasonably comfortable temperature, for example by:

·         insulating hot plants or pipes;

·         providing air cooling plant; 

·         shading windows;

·         sitting workstations away from places subject to radiant heat; 

·         providing, free of charge, a plentiful supply of cool drinks;

·         ensuring that staff take regular breaks;

·           relaxing clothing rules to allow staff to wear cool, loose fitting clothes.  This should not include clothes provided for protective reasons.

In chilled temperatures for some food production, employers should consider:

·         enclosing or insulating the product; 

·         pre-chilling the product; 

·         keeping chilled areas as small as possible; 

·         exposing the product to workroom temperatures as briefly as possible.

This should also be coupled with rotating chilled and warmer work; personal protective clothing; and breaks in warm areas.

Employers should provide thermometers around the workplace to allow Safety Representatives to monitor workplace temperature.

3.    What Rest Breaks Am I Entitled To?

The Working Time Regulations 1998 provide statutory rights to a rest break for most workers in Britain. The Regulations entitle you to:

• a 20 minute rest break for every 6 hours worked;
• 11 consecutive hours of rest per 24 hour period;
• one day off each week (This day off should be taken with the 11 hours referred to above meaning that you are entitled to at least 35 consecutive hours off work once a week).

Young Workers

There are tighter legal controls on the working hours of young workers aged between 16 and 17. Their working hours are limited to:

• 40 hours a week
• eight hours in any one day, and
• night working is prohibited between 10pm – 6am or 11pm – 7am.

There are some exceptions for young workers employed agriculture, retail trading, postal or newspaper deliveries, a catering business, a hotel, public house, restaurant, bar or similar establishment, or a bakery,  However working between the hours of midnight and 4am is prohibited other than in exceptional circumstances.

Where a young worker (i.e. 16 to 17 year old) is required to work for more than four and a half hours at a stretch, he or she is entitled to a rest break of 30 minutes. If a young worker is working for more than one employer, the time s/he is working for each one should be added together to see if they are entitled to a rest break. A young worker’s entitlement to breaks can be reduced or excluded in exceptional circumstances only. Where this occurs, the young worker should receive compensatory rest within 3 weeks.

A young worker is entitled to 12 uninterrupted hours in each 24-hour period in which they work. The rest may be interrupted if periods of work are split up over the day or do not last long.

A young worker’s entitlement to daily rest can be reduced or excluded in exceptional circumstances only. Where this occurs, the young worker should receive compensatory rest within 3 weeks.

Young workers are entitled to two days off each week. This cannot be averaged over a two-week period, and should normally be two consecutive days.

If the nature of the job makes it unavoidable, a young worker’s weekly time off can be reduced to 36 hours, subject to them receiving compensatory rest

Exemptions

Drivers of vehicles under 3.5 tonnes and those subject to tachograph rules are entitled to ‘adequate’ rest periods, rather than a prescribed time period.  The rest should be adequate enough to prevent accidents and injuries caused by fatigue or irregular working patterns.

Some occupations requiring continuity may be exempted from the rest break provision these include:

• Some security guards/caretakers
• Some NHS jobs
• Work at docks or airports
• Gas, water and electricity production or distribution
• Refuse collection
• Industries where work cannot be interrupted on technical grounds
• Where there is a foreseeable surge of activity including tourism and agriculture

However, workers in these occupations are still entitled to periods of equivalent compensatory rest which should be taken as soon as possible after their breaks have been delayed.    It may be possible to ensure that these exemptions are only invoked when management are caught out by unexpected events e.g. power failures or major incidents.

You can complain to an employment tribunal if your employer refuses to allow you to have rest breaks. 

4.    What Facilities And Time Off Is A Safety Representative Entitled To?

The Safety Representatives and Safety Committee Regulations 1977 state that Safety Representatives should be given ‘facilities and assistance’ to carry out inspections in the workplace and inspect the premises following an accident.  This includes:

·         Employers must provide Safety Reps with relevant health and safety information [Reg 7(1)]; 

·         Allowing Safety Reps private discussion with members [Reg 5(3) and 6(2)]

·         Allowing Safety Reps to publicise actions to be taken following inspections (Guidance Note: para 21)

·         Allowing Safety Reps to bring in ‘technical advisors’ (Guidance Note 26).

·         Time off with pay for the investigation of potential hazards and members’ complaints (Reg 4(2);

·         The right to carry out an inspection of the workplace (Reg 5):

(1)   every three months;

(2)   after a notifiable accident or dangerous occurrence;

(3)   after substantial changes to the workplace or work process;

(4)       after new information is received from the Health and Safety Executive, a supplier or manufacturer;

·         The right to consult with members, HSE/Enforcing Authority Inspectors and the employer (Reg 4);

·         The right to attend designated training courses (Approved Code of Practice to Reg 4 (2));

·         The right to attend Safety Committee meetings (ACoP to Reg 4(2));

·         The right to be consulted ‘in good time’ on relevant health and safety matters;

·           Details of GMB Safety Reps’ recommended facilities are given on page 9 of the GMB Safety Reps’ Handbook.

·           The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 (section 2(7)) place a duty on employers to set up a Safety Committee within 3 months of being requested to do so by two trade union appointed Safety Representatives.  Section 9 of the SRSC Regulations also gives this power to Safety Reps. 

5.       Am I Entitled To Have An Eye Test For VDU Work?

The Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992 require employers to provide, upon request, an appropriate eye and eyesight test to VDU users.

The eye and eyesight test should be conducted by an optician, or a doctor who is suitably qualified.  The test should include a vision screening test and an examination of the eyes.  In practice, this means a full eye test as carried out by an ophthalmic optician, although many companies offer the more limited vision screening tests.  Vision screening is not a full eye and eyesight test, which employees can insist upon.

The employer can specify which optician carries out the tests, although many VDU workers simply visit a High Street optician.  The cost of the test must be met by the employer.

The DSE regulations require that eye and eyesight tests be provided:

·         as soon as practicable after existing display screen users have made their request;

·           when somebody is newly recruited or is transferred to carry out VDU work and at regular intervals thereafter, depending on the judgment of the optician or doctor (this will vary for individuals, with yearly or two-yearly intervals being the most common); and

·           when users are experiencing visual difficulties, such as eyestrain or problems with focussing, which may reasonably be considered to be related to the VDU work.

Following the eye test, the optician may prescribe “special corrective appliances” (normally spectacles) to be worn when carrying out VDU work.  For instance, some people who already wear spectacles or contact lenses may need a different lens for correcting their vision to work at the screen.

If the optician prescribes glasses specifically for VDU work, the employer must pay the cost of these.  However, the 1992 Regulations limit the employer’s liability to the cost of providing a “basic appliance”.  The employer is not obliged to pay for designer frames, or for optional treatment to lenses (tints, special coatings etc).  If employees want a better looking or “nicer” pair of glasses, most employers will pay a proportion of the costs (e.g. £50) and expect the employee to fund the excess.

If you require any more advice or information on working with VDUs please contact your GMB Regional Health and Safety Officer.