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Employers and Workers Urged to Take Care in Icy Conditions.

The Health and Safety Authority is today (Tuesday 30th November) urging employers and workers to take care in icy conditions. The freezing conditions have made walking surfaces treacherous. The Authority is asking employers to be particularly careful and to ensure that the workplace is safe for everyone - employees, visitors and customers.

The Authority has issued advice on preventing slips, trips and falls at work but there are particular precautions that should be taken in icy conditions or snow.

Employers should:

 
  • Identify areas at the workplace where employees and pedestrians are most likely to be affected by ice and snow, such as car parks, and pedestrian walkways.
  • Prevent the build up of ice and snow on walkways:
  • Clear a path to your premises - grit or salt may help.
  • Divert pedestrians to less slippery walkways.
  • Close off walkways that cannot be made safe.

 

Ensure that the entrance floor area is kept as dry as possible, properly fitted floor mats can help.

Monitor weather forecasts to plan for freezing conditions.

Employees should:

 
  • Take special care when getting out of your vehicle. Avoid ice if possible and support yourself by holding on to your vehicle.
  • Wear footwear appropriate for the conditions.
  • When entering buildings, remove snow and water from footwear to prevent wet and slippery conditions indoors.

 

Anne Maria O’Connor, Senior Inspector with the Authority said, “Last year approximately one in five reported accidents to the Authority were as a result of a slip, trip or fall. With approximately a quarter of these accidents resulting in absences from work of more than a month, it’s in everyone’s interest that simple safeguards are taken to reduce the risk of workplace falls.”