There are a lot of rules and regulations that your employer must abide by to ensure that the safety of all staff is maintained as much as possible. When it comes to the floor surfaces, the duty is clear, as per The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 – these state the following:
12.—(1) Every floor in a workplace and the surface of every traffic route in a workplace shall be of a construction such that the floor or surface of the traffic route is suitable for the purpose for which it is used.
(2) Without prejudice to the generality of paragraph (1), the requirements in that paragraph shall include requirements that—
(a)the floor, or surface of the traffic route, shall have no hole or slope, or be uneven or slippery so as, in each case, to expose any person to a risk to his health or safety.
For the purposes of this article, the key parts are the bits bolded above. This puts a clear duty on your employer to make sure that all traffic routes are safe to navigate.
So what happens if you trip or stumble due to an uneven surface at work? Perhaps it’s down to poorly maintained floor tiles, or rough ground in an outdoor area, etc. Well as there is a duty on your employer to prevent an employee from being injured due to an uneven surface at work, you may be able to claim.
Whether you have a claim comes down to what steps your employer has taken to prevent the floor from being uneven. If it’s down to poor maintenance, our allegations will be that they have clearly failed to maintain their premises to a safe standard and they are in breach of the regulations as a result.
If there is an outdoor area that is a part of your working premises, and you are regularly expected to use it, then the same duty applies. If there is rough and slipped terrain, your employer should lay down a proper traffic path, or build some steps if you have to negotiate a steep slope. As the regulations state, your employer has a duty to ensure you are not exposed to any risk, so they must prevent any slopes or uneven surfaces posing a hazard.
All employers have a duty to have a policy of employer’s liability insurance for an employee to claim from in the even they are injured at work – so you are covered by insurance, which covers legal fees as well. So if you have been injured due to an uneven surface at work, call our free claims help line on 0800 634 75 75 for advice today.
