Task 3: Accident reporting

Within a workplace there are formal procedures for reporting accidents.

(a) Comment on the Sales Supervisors approach to reporting the apprentices accident?

(b) How should the apprentices accident be reported by the employer?

note: Read curffuly before answer plz

SCENARIO (for information) A car showroom for an international car sales organisation is situated on an industrial estate on the outskirts of a town. The showroom mainly sells new cars but occasionally sells used ones. Car sales are driven by ambitious targets. If these targets are met, the sales force receive large financial bonuses. The Managing Director (MD) reports to the regional, national , and international Boards and delegates the responsibility for meeting sales targets to the Head of Sales (HoS). The indoor showroom is a single storey building, with an open plan design. The centre of the showroom displays four examples of the new cars for sale. Towards the back of the showroom are three desks where the sales team talk with customers. To the right of the desk areas are two separate offices. One office is occupied by the Hos, and one by the MD. Next to these offices is a waiting area that includes a drinks dispensing machine, a few tables and chairs (for information displays, customer seating, etc) and a television. Various new and used cars are parked in neat rows around most of the outside of the showroom building. Also outside, near the entrance, there are twelve dedicated parking bays for visiting customers, vehicles for test driving and vehicles being prepared for handover to customers. The Hos has 10 years' service at the showroom. They are driven by car sales, usually at the expense of safety. This attitude is shared by the leadership team and the Sales Supervisor. The Sales Supervisor has 5 years' service and has a strong influence on those reporting to them. including a very impressionable 17-year-old sales apprentice. The sales team all get along very well and are given a great deal of freedom to do what they like, what matters most is getting the job done and achieving the sales targets. As a result, most of the sales team take chances for the greater good of the team and to maximise bonuses. The sales apprentice, in an attempt to fit in' thinks it is humorous to use the fire extinguisher to wake up the Sales Supervisor who is sleeping during their break. The Sales Supervisor sees the comical side and puts the fire extinguisher back. The remaining member of the sales team is a senior salesperson. They have worked at the showroom for a long time. They are more cautious than the others and have safety concerns. One of these concerns is about the lack of attention paid during the movement of vehicles. Although there are signs saying, 'do not use mobile phones while in vehicles', the senior salesperson has observed near misses due to rushing the job, the apprentice using their phone while driving, and speeding in the car park in an attempt to 'show off'. They think some of this is due to a lack of training and supervision, having witnessed a very short induction with the apprentice. There have been other similar, events in the past, some involving minor injuries. But there is no record of any of these near misses or injuries. In the last 12 years only one fire-related incident has been recorded. This was a false alarm, where a child had read the instructions on one of numerous fire call points that read 'Break glass, press here', so that is exactly what the child did! The Sales Supervisor had assumed the role of fire marshal, and although untrained, escorted visitors and workers to the assigned assembly point nominated in the written emergency procedure. Not even the workers really knew what they were doing, as such events do not happen very often, and no one can remember ever practicing the emergency procedure The senior salesperson talks, in confidence, to the Sales Supervisor about these safety concerns. Surprisingly, the Sales Supervisor replies that management feel that overall fire risk is low and there is no need for frequent fire drills. The senior salesperson is confused and highlights that petrol vehicles are in the showroom, and emphasises the compliance obligations to inform, check, learn and improve through such drills. They finish the conversation by pointing out that all the fire action notices around the building are not just there for the benefit of visitors, but to help protect people and to satisfy insurers too. Despite these personal concerns, the senior salesperson still feels a lot of pressure to fit in with the rest of the group, and not worry about the unsafe working that has become common practice. The MD is somewhat detached from the day-to-day practical operations because of attendance at various off-site exhibitions, national and international conferences, and frequent online meetings. As a result, they delegate the daily 'running' of showroom to the sales team and any health and safety responsibilities to the Hos. However, the HoS has not had any specific health and safety training to fulfil this role. Although the senior salesperson has bravely raised the fire evacuation testing safety issue with the MD in the past, the MD sees no reason to challenge unsafe behaviours and interfere with a successful team if it is meeting the sales targets. However, they do accept that there have been some lucky escapes from incidents that could have been more serious. But nothing bad has happened so far, so why worry? The senior salesperson respectfully suggests a different view that profits and bonuses can be wiped out easily by the large costs associated with even one workplace accident. In addition, the unwelcome attention of enforcement agencies and the media. The senior salesperson's view is that is just a matter of time before a serious accident happens. That same day, in the late afternoon, the Sales Supervisor asks the apprentice to move a car from the car park to a hardstanding location right in front of the entrance, ready for customer collection. The apprentice locates the car, as instructed. As they move the car to the required location, they answer a call on their mobile phone, and stop the car in front of the showroom. While simultaneously raising the mobile phone to their ear with one hand and exiting the vehicle, they trip over the seatbelt which has not quite fully retracted. They stretch out their other arm to cushion the fall onto the concrete hardstanding. The apprentice hastily gets up, looks around in embarrassment to see if anyone is looking, and acts as if nothing has happened. However, the Sales Supervisor witnessed the seemingly harmless-looking incident. Later, the two of them have a conversation in the rest area about the incident. The Sales Supervisor promises to spare the apprentice embarrassment by saying "It is a matter for you, and you alone; as long as you don't say a word to anyone else, neither will I". The following day, the apprentice arrives at work with a plaster cast on their wrist. Their wrist had swollen and become tender and painful. They had gone to hospital and had an X-ray that confirmed a small fracture of the wrist. The plaster cast allows limited movement of the fingers. The Sales Supervisor talks to the apprentice and advises them to say that they fell off a bike at home should anyone ask. The apprentice agrees and does not see this as a problem. They are put on light duties until further notice. The senior salesperson is suspicious, and later takes the apprentice aside and informs them about the implications of accidents at work