WRULD Claims heard in England, Scotland and Wales
References to and/or interpretations of HSE Guidance Documents - Barlow - v - Churchill China (UK) Ltd
| Essentials of Health and Safety at Work 1994 | |
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| Barlow - v - Churchill China (UK) Ltd | Find Other Cases | |
In paragraph 87 of his Judgment on the 16th December 2004, Mr Recorder Rafferty says:
In "Essentials of Health and Safety at Work", published in 1994, the HSE gave the following additional guidance:
"Repeated or awkward movements which are too forceful, too fast or carried out for too long can lead to disorders of the arms, hands or neck.
* Risks may arise in jobs which involve:
* Gripping, squeezing or pressing
* Awkward hand or arm movements, e.g. bent wrist
* Repeated, continuous movements which are fast and unvaried or tied to the speed of a machine
* Awkward, rigid or tense body positions e.g. unnatural hand positions, outstretched arms, having to lean sideways.
People are not all the same and you should take account of this when ordering tools, deigning jobs and setting work speeds.
Risks can be prevented by:
* Reducing the levels of force required, e.g. by maintaining equipment and by using fools with well-designed handles
* Reducing repetitive movements, e.g. by varying tasks, rotating jobs, using power-driven tools, reducing machine pace and introducing rest and recovery time.
* Getting rid of awkward positions by changing the workstation or work.
Encourage the reporting of aches and pains - these are warning signs.
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| Lighten the Load: Guidance for Employers on Musculoskeletal Disorders 1991 | |
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| Barlow - v - Churchill China (UK) Ltd | Find Other Cases | |
In paragraph 86 of his Judgment on the 16th December 2004, Mr Recorder Rafferty says:
In a leaflet published in 1991 entitled: "Lighten the Load: Guidance for Employers on Musculoskeletal Disorders" the HSE renewed the advice that a prudent employer should assess the workplace for hazard and risk.
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| Upper Limb Disorders: Assessing the Risks 1994 | |
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| Barlow - v - Churchill China (UK) Ltd | Find Other Cases | |
In paragraph 86 of his Judgment on the 16th December 2004, Mr Recorder Rafferty says:
In April 1994 a further HSE publication: "Upper Limb Disorders: Assessing the Risks" reinforced the principle of pro-active assessment and provided a number of checklists.
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| Upper Limb Disorders in the workplace HSG60(rev) 2002 | |
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| Barlow - v - Churchill China (UK) Ltd | Find Other Cases | |
In paragraph 92 of his Judgment on the 16th December 2004, Mr Recorder Rafferty says:
Whilst some further reference has been made to a further HSE publication entitled: "Upper Limb Disorders in the Workplace", I make it plain that I have disregarded such a document for the purposes of this judgement since, having been published in February 2002, it post-dated the material events in this instance and could not therefore have been within the knowledge or contemplation of either of the parties at any relevant stage.
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| Work Related Upper Limb Disorders: A Guide to Prevention HSG60 1990 | |
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| Barlow - v - Churchill China (UK) Ltd | Find Other Cases | |
In paragraph 85 of his Judgment on the 16th December 2004, Mr Recorder Rafferty says:
A material respect in which there is no disagreement between the ergonomists is that, at all material times, the most authoritative guidance to employers concerning work related upper limb disorders was a document published in October 1990 by the Health and Safety Executive entitled: "Work Related Upper Limb Disorders - A Guide to Prevention". The following passage from that publication is relevant to this case:
'Where problems of ULDs are known or thought to exist, working arrangements should be examined with a view to eliminating or controlling risk factors. Where employees have developed ULDs there is a particular need to assess and control possible work-related factors."
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| Picking up the Pieces: Prevention of Musculoskeletal Disorders in the Ceramics Industry 1996 | |
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| Barlow - v - Churchill China (UK) Ltd | Find Other Cases | |
In paragraphs 88 to 91 of his Judgment on the 16th December 2004, Mr Recorder Rafferty says:
In 1996, in conjunction with the Ceramics Advisory Committee, the Health and Safety Commission published: "Picking up the Pieces: Prevention of Musculoskeletal Disorders in the Ceramics Industry". An acknowledgement was given to the defendant for the help that it had given with photography in the production of such a document. Whilst indicating at the outset that the guidance given was not compulsory, it was stated by the Committee nevertheless:
"But if you do follow this guidance you will normally be doing enough to comply with the law."
The use of the word "enough" in the above context would appear to me to indicate that what was being advocated was a minimum requirement and no more. The Committee went on to recognise expressly that the incidence of musculoskeletal disorders was a particular problem in the ceramics industry because of the high proportion of handling, carrying and manipulative tasks involved. Whilst many such duties could neither be avoided nor automated, there were steps even so that an employer might take to reduce the risks of injury. The main principles to be adopted were identified as being the avoidance of hazardous, very physical and repetitive operations as far as reasonably practicable, the assessment of the risk of injury from any such operation that could not be avoided and the reduction of the risk of injury as far as reasonably practicable.
Within the body of the document itself, beneath the heading: 'Work-related Upper Limb Disorders" there appear the following paragraphs, their reproduction for present purposes being limited to such passages as seem to me to be material in this instance:
"24. In the last ten years the ceramics industry has become increasingly aware of problems like tenosynovitis, repetitive strain injury (RSI) etc. affecting the hand, wrist, forearm, or upper arm. As a group, these are now called work-related upper limb disorders (WRULDs). The term covers a range of soft tissue disorders of the upper limbs, shoulders and neck, resulting in anything from mild discomfort in hands and wrists to swelling, cramping pain and disability if undetected and allowed to progress ....
25. We know that many people have suffered and lost time from work as a result of these injuries ... About 100 claims a year have been lodged (since 1 April 1996) with the Ceramics and Allied Trades Union (CATU), 75% from women, and this figure is increasing. Women are not necessarily more susceptible but may be concentrated in jobs with high risk factors.
26. The precise cause of an individual's symptoms may not always be easy to establish, but the following factors, alone or in combination, are linked with an increased risk of developing WRULD. Look out for them when making your assessments.
* Awkward orientation of hand or arm
* Excessive manual force required to carry out or control the job
* Over-reaching outwards or upwards
* Frequent repetitive movements over a long period with inadequate rest time to recover - perhaps because the job Is machine paced
* Inappropriately designed hand tools
* Twisting/gripping/squeezing movements for which the exertion of significant pressure is required.
27. Look around your workplace for risk factors and consider how to reorganise the work and redesign the workplace to reduce these factors. Pay particular attention to how the employee grips the tool or ware ...
28. Training and refresher training on the risks and on the correct working techniques for each job are important. Employees should be advised on the symptoms to look for and encouraged to report them early.
29. Employers should take a constructive approach. Problems can be designed out of the system.
Pages 15-18 inclusive of the document comprised a checklist that was stated to be "closely based" on a similar item set out within the 1994 publication: "Upper Limb Disorders: Assessing the Risks" referred to previously. Without rehearsing the same in detail, a number of the factors specified for consideration in the course of a full ULD risk assessment are both self-evident and material to the issues in this case.
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Last updated: 14/05/2013