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Diane Roberts
Member - 4 posts
My understanding was that Crocs are fine in certain situations, certainly comfortable, but in others are definite no-no's.
Perfect for taking a shower in at a campsite or by a swimming pool, for example, where you don't really want to be walking around barefoot.
Where I work (an electronics company), however, they are banned - the simple reason being that they are no good in situations where you have electrostatic sensitive devices. They create a static charge as you walk around, and I had heard a "folk tale" for want of a better way of putting it, that a nurse wearing crocs had actually damaged a piece of vital equipment in a hospital because of this static discharge. I don't know if this issue has actually been checked or confirmed, but we're not prepared to take the risk that any of our ESDs will blow because of them.
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Diane Roberts
Member - 4 posts
To be honest with you Bozena, we probably would be having this same conversation regardless of the language spoken.
The point being though, that I KNOW what the law is, and personally I don't have any problems - but I have to check up on this, I have to follow up on any information, and if one of our employees decides to lodge a formal grievance - then what?
At least this way I am 100% sure I am fully informed, have the correct information at my fingertips to back me up, and possibly even have a few ideas/tricks up my sleeve so that I can make a few suggestions and come to a mutually beneficial resolution which keeps the company on the side of the law, protects all staff yet doesn't mollycoddle the moaners.
Ultimately, this isn't coming down as a racial discrimination issue so much as a "girls will be girls" issue, but it doesn't mean I shouldn't treat it seriously.
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Diane Roberts
Member - 4 posts
I have a similar problem which has escalated recently, and would appreciate any advice that anyone can offer; in particular I'd be interested in how you've resolved your problem, David.
We have both Administrative staff and Production staff on our site. Out of 63 employees, of which 8 are Polish, 5 of the Polish staff work in Production, mostly in one section, where the majority of the English staff work part-time and only mornings. The English staff remaining in the afternoons in one particular section are decidedly outnumbered, and the Polish staff chatter away in their own language. As a result, we have a couple of disgruntled English employees who feel that they are being discriminated against, even harrassed a little. I've tried to explain that they need to stop being quite so paranoid that they're being talked about, but the situation is getting intolerable and I don't want staff to walk because there's nothing I can do about it.
Is there anything I can do to ensure that all the staff are kept happy? We don't have such a great problem in the offices as the Polish people only chat in Polish in passing - in assembly it's constant, and is wearing the English down. All but one of the Polish employees have excellent English, so it's by choice rather than necessity that they speak in Polish. They are also extremely quick to wave the Race Discrimination card, as we have found to our cost already. I know we can't insist that only English is spoken - what I need is to find a mutually tolerable resolution....
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Diane Roberts
Member - 4 posts
We have just had exactly this situation occur at our workplace, except that it happened without warning due to a burst main elsewhere in town. We had no idea or indication of how long it would last, and our H&S man got on the case immediately at my request to find out how long it would be before everyone had to go home. Our toilets are fed directly from the mains as we do not have a tank.
Regulations stipulate that toilet facilities MUST be provided for staff, but don't indicate in what form. The remotest suggestion here that staff go home was met with uproar, but luckily it only lasted an hour or so before the water was back on.
As you have plenty of warning, is there anything to prevent you from hiring in a couple of portaloos? It would be unreasonable, and unrealistic, to expect staff to refill the cisterns, especially if it would mean a considerable trek to obtain water, and lots of stair climbing. Like David says, there are Manual Handling Issues, and also an H&S issue of spillages.
If building sites manage, I'm sure a loss of supply for only 4-6 hours can be handled. As for washing facilities, bottled water is adequate (if you want hot, boil it!) and you can always get some of the alcohol solution they use in hospitals.
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