Bike in office H&S risk?

We weren’t supposed to keep

We weren’t supposed to keep bikes in our rooms at uni as they were deemed a fire risk. This in spite of the fact that nearly every night, the fire brigade would be called out to someone somewhere in the halls of residence setting off the fire alarm by burning toast!

Never saw a bike do that so it stayed in my room!

Had similar in an office temp job that I did one day a week when I was a student, a vehemently anti-cycling office manager who again claimed fire risk / health & safety (I had my own little office, it was fine in there, completely out of the way) and she once had a proper screaming fit at me. I got round that one by putting it into one of the toilet cubicles on it’s rear wheel, closing the door and putting an Out Of Order sign on the cubicle door. Funny how that cubicle was always out of order one day a week…

I hate the health and safety
I hate the health and safety bs. I’m no longer allowed to hang wet gear on a drying rail on a radiator as it’s a fire risk.
I do it all the time at home and my house is yet to catch fire…

Next time one of those
Next time one of those delightedly new over the top mums come in to work while on maternity to show off their new sprog, that pram’s going in the bike shed.

Kapelmuur wrote:

Nothing to do with bikes, but my best H&S story is that one night I left the office having forgotten to unplug an electrical item.

When I arrived next day I had a visit from the H&S rep who administered a lengthy bollocking, which I was prepared to accept as I realised that the item could have caused a fire.

However, he didn’t mention this so I asked him what was his actual problem from a H&S perspective.

He spluttered a little and eventually told me that a burglar could have broken in, tripped over the cable, injured himself and sued the company.

 

 

Pretty sure it wasn’t an H&S story or even your best one.

Unless you had left plugged in a hot air gun pointed at something combustable (for example), at best is a tale about peoples idiotic behavior when trying, and failing, to demonstrate they have ‘power’

As others have said its got

As others have said its got nothing to do with H&S.

Unless the bike is blocking a walkway (unlikely) its not an H&S issue.  Dont bother talking about risk assessment.  Forget the parts of HASWA listed above.  Absolutely forget about Dynamic risk assessment (even POWRA) as unless you are in the emergency services facing an emergency situation they are less use to you, practically or in Law, than a chocolate fireguard.

If you are being told by a competent H&S person they wont be able to justify why.  If they are not a competent H&S person they are just making it up because THEY dont want your bike in the office.

Coach H – Chartered H&S Practitioner (dealing with this type of $h*t and real H&S for over 20 years)

Under the HASAWA 1974 section

Under the HASAWA 1974 section 2 the employer has the duty of care to make a safe working environment and to give means of safe access to and egress to and  from the work place , so if it’s in anyone’s way at all it is a reasonably foreseeable hazard.

also under section 7 of the HASAWA 1974 all employees have a duty while at work to take reasonable care for the health and safety of him/herself and of other persons who may be affected by his/her acts or omissions at work, so is also an issue here.

But putting that aside, just say you have done a dynamic risk assessment (or a POWRA) to store your bike there and taken the appropriate actions to reduce the hazards to an acceptable level( e.g.  Not put it in any walk ways or escape routes and  told people working close to it not to touch your bike) and tell him to sod off 😉 

I’ve heard an awful lot of

I’ve heard an awful lot of tales (and experience one myself) of H&S managers that are just vehmently anti-bike.