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Attention: industrial, health, legal and social affairs correspondents, news and planning desks

Slipping and tripping at work - TUC calls for a safe start to 2003

Every year some 9,000 people suffer broken bones and other serious injuries, having slipped or tripped at work, according to a new TUC study published today (Thursday).

The TUC wants employers to pledge a safer start to the New Year, and is calling on them to carry out risk assessments following major slip or trips in their workplace in an attempt to tackle the problem which is currently costing the UK economy around £1.1 billion a year.

The TUC report 'Falling down on the job: Preventing slips and trips at work' is based on a recent survey of trade union safety reps based in workplaces across the UK. It found that in one year there were nearly 15,000 slip and trip incidents in the 800 workplaces covered, and identified the hazard as a problem in 84% of the organisations surveyed.

Employees were most likely to slip over and injure themselves in Wales (69 incidents per workplace), closely followed by workplaces in the East Midlands (34) and the South East (28).

Workers are most likely to come a cropper in the health sector (accidents here totalled 44% of all those reported), but public administration, including local authority and national government departments also fared badly with 2,433 incidents (16% of the total).

People were most likely to trip or slip up as a result of substances on the floor (in 43% of cases), or because of obstructions that had been left in the wrong place (31%). Union safety reps noted that most of these kinds of accidents happened on stairs and steps (29%), the shop floor (28%) or outside (27%).

TUC General Secretary-elect Brendan Barber said: "With safety issues like stress and RSI grabbing the headlines, many employers seem to have forgotten all about the more 'old-fashioned' workplace hazards. But slips and trips are the biggest cause of major injuries sustained at work: every hour, someone in Britain breaks a bone at work.

"Slips and trips are easily prevented - a simple risk assessment is all it takes. But too many employers are ducking the issue, leaving their staff vulnerable to a painful fall, often leading to time off work. If this is a problem in your workplace make it the hazard you eliminate in 2003!'

'Falling down on the job: Preventing slips and trips at work' wants to see:

• more publicity surrounding this most common of workplace accidents, highlighting the burdensome costs of compensation and lost time to employers (£368 million) and society (£763 million)

• where slips and trips are happening regularly, employers should carry out a specific risk assessment of the problem

• the promotion of a partnership approach towards tackling the problem (only 45% of safety reps said that they were consulted about preventing slips and trips, with 50% being told about a problem after an incident had occurred).

'Falling down on the job: Preventing slips and trips at work' contains a number of case studies:

• In September 1993 Larry Henderson, a Metropolitan Police scenes of crime officer, caught his foot on a kitbag left on a dimly lit staircase and fell, injuring his shoulder and his back. He suffered a severe prolapsed intervertebral disc, was medically retired in 1994 and has been in constant pain ever since. Prospect (then IPMS) took up the case against his employer. Medical reports concluded that he was completely disabled and unable to work or enjoy normal leisure activities, but his employer was cynical about the extent of his injuries. It employed a private investigation company to keep Larry under surveillance, and in August 1996 he was filmed while out shopping with his wife at a supermarket. Video evidence was used in court to imply that Larry had been exaggerating his symptoms, but after a three-day trial the judge ruled that this was not the case. He found the employer liable and awarded damages of £325,000.

• It was a dark morning in February 1997 when telephonist Adrian Sparkes turned up for work at the local Barclays branch where he worked. Although he was nearly totally blind Adrian could make out certain shapes if the light was strong enough. Being blind, Adrian had a well-worn routine when he got to work and he was just reaching for the light switch in a corridor, when he, in his own words, "went flying". Someone had left several boxes of stationery next to the sign that read 'no stationery to be left here'. Sustaining severe and lasting damage to his left wrist in the fall, Adrian's life became an endless round of visits to doctors and physiotherapists. "Initially the bank was very supportive - they were even paying my taxi fares for the first seven months. But then there was a change of heart and that was when I got in touch with UNIFI," he says. Following a four-year battle supported by his union, Adrian agreed an out-of-court settlement after the bank admitted partial responsiblity.

• UNISON member Alison Hockaday won £600,000 in compensation for injuries sustained at work which resulted in her having her right leg amputated below the knee. Alison was employed by the South West Durham Health Authority working at the Winterton Hospital, Durham as an occupational therapy assistant. Her first injury happened in November 1986 when she slipped on wet leaves on the entrance steps to the hospital, badly twisting her knee. Then in March 1990 she slipped on a wet vinyl floor in the community development unit of the hospital, fracturing her right ankle. Alison continued to suffer considerable pain and disability in the knee and ankle, had numerous operations, eventually leading to below knee amputation of her right leg in May 1997. She can wear her prosthetic limb only for a short while indoors because she suffers from psoriasis and has to use a wheelchair outside. Alison has not worked since 1992, when her employment was terminated on ill-health grounds. Before the accidents Alison was a very active sports person regularly swimming, jogging and playing badminton and had played netball for her County. After years of legal wrangling, the employer made an offer to settle which was accepted. Alison says: "I am grateful for what UNISON has done for me - there's no way I could have funded a 13-year legal case myself. I would give all the money back tomorrow if I could have my leg back, but the money will help in the long-term to make life easier."

Notes to Editors:

All TUC press releases can be found at www.tuc.org.uk

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pre-embargo releases and reports from the TUC. 'Falling down on the job: Preventing slips and trips at work' is available at www.tuc.org.uk/pressextranet

Contacts: Media enquiries: Liz Chinchen on 020 7467 1248 or 07699 744115 (pager) or email media@tuc.org.uk

Press release (1,200 words) issued 2 Jan 2003