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Heath & safety in the workplace
Hi,
My son is a support worker working for a home dealing with adults suffering from autism and aspergers syndrome. The clients vary in demeanour, and are grouped together in houses on the complex. The house my son is currently working in is probably the most demanding as the clients are physically abusive towards their carers, and he has been coming home regularly over the past months with cuts , grazes, black eyes etc. Not a week goes by without he gets a blow of some kind, and some of these clients are big guys, one is around 23 stone. He has had a number of periods off with sickness caused by the stress, and his GP's have issues him with certificates. However his employers dismiss any complaints he makes with "it's part of the job". In fact they have previously tried to put him on a disciplinary because of his sickness, and it was only due to a doctors letter the matter dropped. However they refused to move him to a less violent house, and now the sickness has started again. My question is does his employer have a duty of care in this situation, or can they indeed say it's part of the nature of his employment. Where do we go to get advice on how we get his employer to take some sort of action to help him, or is there an organisation that regulates the operation of these types of home.? Any help would be very gratefully appreciated.
My son is a support worker working for a home dealing with adults suffering from autism and aspergers syndrome. The clients vary in demeanour, and are grouped together in houses on the complex. The house my son is currently working in is probably the most demanding as the clients are physically abusive towards their carers, and he has been coming home regularly over the past months with cuts , grazes, black eyes etc. Not a week goes by without he gets a blow of some kind, and some of these clients are big guys, one is around 23 stone. He has had a number of periods off with sickness caused by the stress, and his GP's have issues him with certificates. However his employers dismiss any complaints he makes with "it's part of the job". In fact they have previously tried to put him on a disciplinary because of his sickness, and it was only due to a doctors letter the matter dropped. However they refused to move him to a less violent house, and now the sickness has started again. My question is does his employer have a duty of care in this situation, or can they indeed say it's part of the nature of his employment. Where do we go to get advice on how we get his employer to take some sort of action to help him, or is there an organisation that regulates the operation of these types of home.? Any help would be very gratefully appreciated.
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Whilst it is true that this does come with the job, it does not diminish the fact that your son's employer does have a duty of care towards him, certain measures can be put place (training seems to be a key factor in your sons situation) to help avoid any serious incidents. Have a look at this case study by the HSE, it is a good example if what your son employers could/should be doing.
http://www.hse.gov.uk...tudies/birmingham.htm
http://www.hse.gov.uk...tudies/birmingham.htm
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