Common Injuries

If there’s one thing we’re sticklers for, it’s workplace health and safety. In the hospitality industry, the most common injuries to workers are a result of:

·        Muscular and musculoskeletal trauma (e.g. through lifting something too heavy or with incorrect technique).

·        Slips and trips.

·        Cuts and burns.

·        Fire and electrical hazards.

·        Exposure to extreme heat or cold.

·        Hitting or being hit by an object.

These injuries most commonly affect upper limbs (42%), the torso, (18%) lower limbs (15%), head (6%), and the psyche through ongoing mental trauma (4%) as a result of a physical injury.

Prevention is the best protection. Aside from ensuring your staff wear correct PPE, your employer responsibilities are also to ensure staff are correctly trained, qualified and supervised (where necessary) so they can perform their duties safely. You must provide and maintain a safe working environment for staff mentally and physically. For example, dealing with any workplace harassment quickly is just as important as ensuring that dripping tap is fixed as soon as possible to prevent slips. And of course, you must ensure the conduct of the business does not endanger workers. Asking them to perform duties you know are unsafe is extremely negligent and quite frankly, a lawsuit waiting to happen…