Heath & safety in the workplace

[tca_home]

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.

[another-view]

Must admit, it does sound like part of the job to me. You wouldn't see a firefighter taking a day off on stress because he got a cut while rescuing someone frm a burning building. Surely your son was aware of the nature of the job before he applied?

[zzxxee]

has he been on a restraining course????
i have in the past worked in menatl health and worked in a home where violence was high
it states you can use force where it is neccessary and appropriate and they should have offered him this a s they have a duty of care to their employees

[zzxxee]

do they also provide him with a saftey alarm he carries round with him????

[Hazel104]

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