Best practices

Q1: as an employee, you can rely upon the doctrine of vicarious liability. Mind you, it would trouble my conscience considerably to re-energise an installation which I considered unsafe.

Q2: your new spur should be RCD protected at its origin. You have no liability for the rest of the installation. In short, the work which you do should comply.

There is legislation which aims to protect whistle-blowers, but I would not rely upon it.

I admire the way in which you bring these issues to the forum. Good luck!

A lot depends on the DEGREE of non compliance. Taking as an example Ze, a figure SLIGHTLY higher that that required might be reluctantly acceptable, it probably does not matter much in practice if an earth fault on a submain is disconnected in 5.5 seconds instead of in 5 seconds.

If however the figure was several times that permitted, then I would be very reluctant to allow continued use.

Likewise with other defects. 15 amp socket outlet on a 20 amp circuit ? not really correct but not that bad. 15 amp socket outlet on a 63 amp circuit, no way !

I would not allow any dangerous non compliance at work to be tolerated,  whoever was in charge. It would be my head on the block if things went very wrong.    In the work environment I am responsible for my safety and the safety of others.      That is a legal requirement.

I would not switch on a potentially dangerous circuit or machine. Let the boss do it.     Imagine yourself in court having to reply to the lawyer:

“Why did you switch on the circuit/machine knowing full well the dangers involved, you have already admitted to knowing the there was a safety issue?”                                                                                                

132.16

641.5

644.1.2

Latest Health & Safety Prosecutions for unsafe machinery (sponmech.co.uk)

Z.

Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (legislation.gov.uk)

7General duties of employees at work.

It shall be the duty of every employee while at work—

(a)to take reasonable care for the health and safety of himself and of other persons who may be affected by his acts or omissions at work; and

(b)as regards any duty or requirement imposed on his employer or any other person by or under any of the relevant statutory provisions, to co-operate with him so far as is necessary to enable that duty or requirement to be performed or complied with.

Z.

2General duties of employers to their employees.

(1)It shall be the duty of every employer to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of all his employees.

(2)Without prejudice to the generality of an employer’s duty under the preceding subsection, the matters to which that duty extends include in particular—

(a)the provision and maintenance of plant and systems of work that are, so far as is reasonably practicable, safe and without risks to health;

MrJack96: 
So from an employees point of view if something has a fault on it poor Ze, IR under 1 Meg what is best practice for leaving these circuits if we then know about them surely we should have the duty to lock them off, however I know it’s different when carrying out EICRs as potentially dangerous is detailed on the report and not always remedied there and then?

The permission of the owner should be gained before any such work is carried out, unless you consider it life threatening etc., you do not have a right otherwise. If they say no, try and get it in writing ………. to CYA. The bottom line “Who will be gripping the rail of the bench” ?

Jaymack   

MrJack96: 
So from an employees point of view if something has a fault on it poor Ze, IR under 1 Meg what is best practice for leaving these circuits if we then know about them surely we should have the duty to lock them off, however I know it’s different when carrying out EICRs as potentially dangerous is detailed on the report and not always remedied there and then?

As an employee you have a legal duty of care to undertake work safely and not to introduce or allow any dangerous situation, either by neglect, negligence or accident that could harm anybody else. If you allow a dangerous situation to exist you are complicit by being negligent.

Z.

 I know in the industrial setting we are pressured to keep things going (critical kit) but say even if we’ve got it in writing we’ve said it’s potentially dangerous and we’ve been told in writing to switch it back on who is then at fault?

 

 

 

The person that switches on the potentially dangerous circuit or machine is at fault. Personally I would not switch it on, written permission or not.

Z.

There ought to be standard operating procedures for dealing with various faults or other difficulties.

Whether you can choose to isolate a defective part of an installation should be in your job description or terms and conditions of service. It is likely to depend upon seniority.

If push comes to shove and you have a big difference of opinion with management such that you and the company part ways, there is always the option of a claim for unfair dismissal, but that would be rather extreme.