How prescription safety eyewear could land you in court
Poor maintenance
Badly maintained products will increase the risk of exposure to harmful substances and increase the risk of developing deadly lung diseases.
Lack of regular fit testing
RPE needs to fit tightly and this can become compromised by the slightest of weight gain, weight loss and facial hair. Regular face fit testing helps eliminate the risk of exposure.
The risks aren’t always clear to see.
Few things are more precious than a person’s eyesight. And yet 2,000 employees suffer eye injuries at work every year in the UK. 10-20% of those people will experience temporary or permanent vision loss. That’s 200-400 people a year1.
Many Health & Safety managers believe they supply the right prescription safety eyewear. But this could be blind faith. Recent investigations found that 6 out of 11 companies provided employees with inappropriate prescription safety eyewear. More startlingly, some of the Health & Safety managers were wearing incorrect eyewear themselves.
This is due to the loss of specialist knowledge during the procurement process. Even if you specify the correct prescription safety eyewear, it’s no guarantee that your people will end up with the right protection.
There are 4 key risk factors – delegation of ordering responsibility, internal administration errors, lack of understanding around safety eyewear ratings and assuming high street opticians have the necessary safety expertise.
Now you know the risks, it’s time to think about accountability.
Eye opening?
Take the test to identify where the risks are in your approach to prescription safety eyewear.
You could be held accountable if something goes wrong
You might think that by conducting risk assessments and specifying what you believe is the right equipment, you’ve done enough. But even if someone else is responsible for buying the eyewear, you’re ultimately responsible for your employees’ safety. Meaning you could be held legally accountable for accidents and injuries.
On top of that, new sentencing guidelines introduced in 2016 mean fines can now be issue based on the risk of potential harm to an employee, long before an actual accident occurs.
Another risk is assuming an optician has specialist safety knowledge. You wouldn’t get a Health & Safety manager to test your eyes, so don’t trust on an optician to specify the correct safety eyewear for the job. You are not protected from prosecutions and fines if you rely on an optician.
So if you are responsible, what are the penalties?
These are the consequences you could face
There are 3 main consequences of eyewear-related accidents.
1: Legal action
If you are deemed to be responsible, you could face legal action.
2: Fines
The costs of accidents begins with fines, but there are also much deeper financial consequences for your business. In 2013, a company was fined £6,500 when an employee suffered a permanent eye injury2. While this example might not appear substantial, consider the hidden costs like insurance premiums, civil claims and loss of earnings.
• HSE estimates that for every £1 recovered from insurers, at least £8 is lost entirely.
• The average cost of a H&S-related prosecution in 2017-18 was £147,000 per conviction.3
As well as monetary impact, accidents can also cause reputational damage, disruption of work and negative employee morale.
3: Emotional impact
While this may seem like a ‘soft’ consequence, consider that 78% of people fear losing their sight more than any other sense4. Think about how someone’s life would change dramatically if they suffered an eye-related injury at work. How would you feel if you were held responsible?
Now you know the facts, let’s look at what you can do to protect your people’s eyesight at work.
The ten second safety test
The good news is that there’s a straightforward way to see if the prescription safety eyewear your people are using is up to the job.
The 10 second test is simple – by looking at the safety marking on the eyewear and checking for an S or F mark, you can tell if it’s up to the task.
It’s also vital to make sure everyone involved in issuing prescription safety eyewear understands the different specifications available and which ones provide the right protection for each job.
To keep your people safe at work, you need to make sure you’re working with a safety specialist who can help mitigate the risk.
How you can improve your defensibility
Do you want reassurance that the prescription safety eyewear you are issuing will protect your people, your business, and you?
Start now by identifying the risk factors in your process using our online tool.
Or for more information visit campaigns.arco.co.uk/blindinglyobvious