@JRT Absolutely agree with everything you say.
In conversation with three colleagues last night (we have a small WhatsApp joke telling group!!) I was informed that a colleague who recently gave birth had her Individual Risk Assessment last week after a wait of two weeks since her request. Why I'm waiting after requesting one in July I have no idea. However on Friday I spoke to the Union and my Rep has now emailed my Head requesting and Individual Risk Assessment. It's not an aggressive letter at my request, but an olive branch as if to say "come on this is getting silly I've waited long enough". Whilst of course the I.R.A will not ease all of my fears as long as the school has considered all Government guidelines and is adhering them, with my Rep getting in contact it might make the school wake up a bit on their responsibility and accepting my responsibility to myself. He quoted quite a good link actually to them with regard to Diabetes and Covid. I have added the Union email below in case others want their Union to come up with something similar.
This week could be problematic as it looks like rain is finally coming in after being dry for a few weeks. Forcing me inside is not an option that I am looking forward to but what else can I do, stand outside a closed classroom door with an umbrella? I'd end up being known as the Wally with the Brolly as a certain football manager was named years ago!
Cases in Australia are down which isn't surprising as their winter is finishing and spring is on it's way. Cases in Europe are up because our summer is finishing. The Government and others seem surprised and yet all that surprises me is that those people are surprised. We still have not learned from The Spanish Flu of 1919 with it's three waves. Deaths are on the up again and will they get to March-May levels? Hope not but who knows and yet we still have a government who are umming and ahhing about what to do to.
One thing to be thankful for is mum's care home closed down again this week. Gutting to not be able to visit her but they shut down in February, earlier than many others and have been proactive again. No cases at all so far and I hope that continues.
PROACTIVE is the keyword. More bosses, heads etc should be braver and look at the evidence on the governments handling of this and say forget the guidance - we are going to protect our own and make our own decisions.
The letter as promised -
I am writing regarding the need for an individual risk assessment to be considered and in place with some urgency, for your staff member *******.
Risk assessments need to be in place for members of staff with underlying health conditions, to enable the member of staff to return to the workplace and ensure employers have fulfilled their responsibility under health and safety legislation.
I would like to draw your attention to the following:
Therefore I would like you to agree that, given these circumstances, and the anxiety this is causing Mr *****; a risk assessment will be put in place taking into account Mr ***** individual circumstances by 25/09/20.
It is my understanding that Mr *****requested an individual risk assessment take place and has mentioned it previously in email to ***** on 14th July 2020 and requested one again on 25th August 2020. He has been informed that ***** is dealing with it and that it had been passed to ***** the Executive Head to manage. There has now been a delay of over 2 months, during which time the school would have been aware of the need for this to be in place for vulnerable staff to be able to return to the workplace.
I would be grateful if you could let me know the reasons why the individual risk assessment is not in place, any issue which is causing a delay and why a staff member with underlying health conditions is expected to attend the workplace, when the requirement to consider individual circumstances and conduct individual risk assessment as a requirement of Health and Safety Legislation, hasn’t been complied with.
I appreciate the workload, school leadership teams have been facing during unprecedented times and do not underestimate the challenge this causes, especially when guidance is changing frequently. I have attached the Joint Union Checklist documents, which might help with this task.
Please don’t hesitate to contact me if I could assist or offer further advice about the individual risk assessment document, in any way.
Yours faithfully.
In conversation with three colleagues last night (we have a small WhatsApp joke telling group!!) I was informed that a colleague who recently gave birth had her Individual Risk Assessment last week after a wait of two weeks since her request. Why I'm waiting after requesting one in July I have no idea. However on Friday I spoke to the Union and my Rep has now emailed my Head requesting and Individual Risk Assessment. It's not an aggressive letter at my request, but an olive branch as if to say "come on this is getting silly I've waited long enough". Whilst of course the I.R.A will not ease all of my fears as long as the school has considered all Government guidelines and is adhering them, with my Rep getting in contact it might make the school wake up a bit on their responsibility and accepting my responsibility to myself. He quoted quite a good link actually to them with regard to Diabetes and Covid. I have added the Union email below in case others want their Union to come up with something similar.
This week could be problematic as it looks like rain is finally coming in after being dry for a few weeks. Forcing me inside is not an option that I am looking forward to but what else can I do, stand outside a closed classroom door with an umbrella? I'd end up being known as the Wally with the Brolly as a certain football manager was named years ago!
Cases in Australia are down which isn't surprising as their winter is finishing and spring is on it's way. Cases in Europe are up because our summer is finishing. The Government and others seem surprised and yet all that surprises me is that those people are surprised. We still have not learned from The Spanish Flu of 1919 with it's three waves. Deaths are on the up again and will they get to March-May levels? Hope not but who knows and yet we still have a government who are umming and ahhing about what to do to.
One thing to be thankful for is mum's care home closed down again this week. Gutting to not be able to visit her but they shut down in February, earlier than many others and have been proactive again. No cases at all so far and I hope that continues.
PROACTIVE is the keyword. More bosses, heads etc should be braver and look at the evidence on the governments handling of this and say forget the guidance - we are going to protect our own and make our own decisions.
The letter as promised -
I am writing regarding the need for an individual risk assessment to be considered and in place with some urgency, for your staff member *******.
Risk assessments need to be in place for members of staff with underlying health conditions, to enable the member of staff to return to the workplace and ensure employers have fulfilled their responsibility under health and safety legislation.
I would like to draw your attention to the following:
- Risk assessments are a requirement of Government guidance for The Full Opening of Schools, and (S3) of The Management of Health and Safety in the Workplace Regulations 1999, makes risk assessment a requirement under Health and Safety Legislation.
- This includes assessing the individual circumstances for each employee before requiring them to attend the workplace. Circumstances also include the individuals own health conditions alongside any additional concerns that would place them at higher risk and must take account of personal or household circumstances and where necessary medical advice.
- Although Government advice is that employees can return to the workplace, in some circumstances and for some individuals this will not be safe unless additional mitigants to risk are identified and implemented through risk assessment.
- An individual risk assessment might conclude it is safer for an employee to continue to work from home if medical evidence supported this, an individual be redeployed to different tasks within the workplace to support greater levels of social distancing, or the employee be instructed to adopt different methods of working to minimise identified risks.
- It is my belief you have been made aware of the following underlying medical conditions; Type 2 Diabetes and Hypertension and that Mr ***** is on medication for both conditions.
- The following report from the Health Science company ZOE and Kings College London helps explain concerns about individuals with Type 2 Diabetes and the risks from Covid-19 infection. https://covid.joinzoe.com/post/diabetes-covid-risk
- These underlying conditions are known to put Mr ***** at a higher risk of a serious impact to his health should he contract Covid19 and he understandably remains extremely anxious about the potential risk to his health and safety at ***** School.
- Mr ***** does not feel fully safe at the school. The absence of an individual risk assessment is a factor in this belief.
- There is an urgent need to address this situation, in order to reduce the stress and anxiety it is causing our member.
Therefore I would like you to agree that, given these circumstances, and the anxiety this is causing Mr *****; a risk assessment will be put in place taking into account Mr ***** individual circumstances by 25/09/20.
It is my understanding that Mr *****requested an individual risk assessment take place and has mentioned it previously in email to ***** on 14th July 2020 and requested one again on 25th August 2020. He has been informed that ***** is dealing with it and that it had been passed to ***** the Executive Head to manage. There has now been a delay of over 2 months, during which time the school would have been aware of the need for this to be in place for vulnerable staff to be able to return to the workplace.
I would be grateful if you could let me know the reasons why the individual risk assessment is not in place, any issue which is causing a delay and why a staff member with underlying health conditions is expected to attend the workplace, when the requirement to consider individual circumstances and conduct individual risk assessment as a requirement of Health and Safety Legislation, hasn’t been complied with.
I appreciate the workload, school leadership teams have been facing during unprecedented times and do not underestimate the challenge this causes, especially when guidance is changing frequently. I have attached the Joint Union Checklist documents, which might help with this task.
Please don’t hesitate to contact me if I could assist or offer further advice about the individual risk assessment document, in any way.
Yours faithfully.