Day 084 - 07 Feb 95 - Page 46
1
2 Q. So when did you consider an accident worthy of getting on
3 to an incident report form above the cut finger level?
4 When does it start becoming?
5 A. Say a crew member fell over and banged himself --
6 I remember myself I trapped my finger in the safe once
7 (this is a good example) and got a nasty trapped thumb,
8 that need not have been reported anywhere else but
9 I reported it on an incident report form.
10
11 Q. That was your policy as a manager, was it?
12 A. Yes. It is discretionary, that they area, it is just
13 that it may help sometime in the future. Again, it is being
14 proactive about it. It is not our policy to do that, but
15 in practice this is what happens.
16
17 Q. I am trying to find out what the company policy is. You
18 are in charge of that department and you are saying
19 you -----
20
21 MR. JUSTICE BELL: First ask if there is a company policy,
22 because he said on more than one occasion that it is up to
23 the discretion of manager. If it is a RIDDOR accident the
24 procedure, as I understand it, is that there is also a
25 company incident report form which goes to head office?
26 A. I will try to explain yet again what is company policy
27 and what happens occasionally in practice. Any accident to
28 a crew member howsoever minor will be reported in the store
29 accident book, the blue book in the restaurant. Any
30 accident to a crew member that is covered under RIDDOR, is
31 a reportable accident under RIDDOR, will go on an incident
32 report form or be sent off to various customer services and
33 the environmental health officer. If an incident happens
34 in the store that is maybe more serious than a slight cut
35 and less serious than RIDDOR, then it will be the manager's
36 discretion whether that is worthy of reporting.
37
38 MR. MORRIS: Does the company have any policy or guidance for
39 managers at what level it expects the management to fill an
40 incident report form or is it entirely at the discretion of
41 the manager up to the level of RIDDOR?
42 A. Well, just by the definition of an incident and what is
43 an incident within the restaurant, we encourage people if
44 they have any doubts about the matter to fill an incident
45 report form in and record it and have it logged down as
46 something happened. That is just the way that people are
47 trained.
48
49 Q. So for every serious RIDDOR reported accident there will be
50 how many not reportable accidents, 100?
51 A. I just could not speculate on that figure at all.
52
53 Q. Obviously RIDDOR are the tip of the iceberg, are they not?
54 A. I think it would be fair to say people will cut their
55 finger a little bit more frequently than they would break
56 their leg in McDonald's.
57
58 Q. Yes, but you have been a manager and you know how many less
59 serious accidents get put in the accident book over the
60 year?
