Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 are designed to protect employees from any injuries caused by Manual Handling at work. Manual Handling is not just specified to lifting, but also to carrying, lowering, pushing, and pulling. In order for employers to make sure their employees know how to do Manual Handling in a way they won’t injure themselves, they must provide manual handling training.
Records kept by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) state that the most common injury sustained by people carrying out manual handling at work is a back injury; although injuries to arms and feet are also fairly common. Records kept by the HSE also say that more than a third of all accidents at work that resulted in the person been injured for more than three days are related to manual handling at work.
A lot of us think that it’s only workers in places such as factories, building sites and farms, that are at risk of having a manual handling accident. The truth is, regardless of where you work, whether it is an office, hospital or shop, etc, you are still at risk.
In order to prevent manual handling accidents at work, employees and employers should work together.
Employers should:
- Always carry out a risk assessment of manual handling work
- Try to decrease the amount of manual handling work employers have to do on a daily basis
- Make sure staff have the correct training they need
- Keep employees up to date with the latest health and safety regulations
Employees should:
- Follow health and safety guidelines given by their employer
- Attend all necessary training sessions that are provided
- Notify their employer of any dangers they spot when carrying out manual handling
- Not be afraid to tell their employer if they feel unfit to carry out a manual handling task
All work places should have an accident at work fil;, if you do become injured, make sure that you report it to your employer – that way they can record it and make the necessary arrangements to prevent this happening again.
