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OK so I work for a company primarily dealing in Fire/Security/Warden Call/Intercom/Comms/CCTV etc. we have taken on a big contract this year and are constantly getting OOH vehicle and ped gate call outs, now all of us engineers here are new to these, granted sometimes its pretty straight forward however we do use a sub contractor for the more advanced problems.
Our concerns now are that our employer is putting more and more pressure on us for first time fixes, and expecting us to try everything and get these 1 ton gates fixed. It has been 4 months and we are constantly bringing up the lack of training and knowledge which is worrying us, last week they arranged a training "course", this was twenty minutes of a gate engineer taking us through the basics of how they work, they now want us to sign a sheet saying we have been trained.
I am reminded of the cheshire gate company who were prosecuted after the death of a child crushed in a gate, also I know engineers have been liable and gone to prison for similar cases.
Lads are calling me up because im a bit more clued up on HR side, but im not sure what to say apart from read what you are signing and dont attempt a job you dont feel comfortable with.
Typically we attend a call out, cant fix the gate, isolate and manually open and referr to subby, then follows a strongly worded email from the MD saying this isnt good enough we need it fixed there and then.
No parts are available, still no training, and when something goes wrong guess who gets the blame!
Can anyone experienced advise on where we stand from a legal and HR POV?
If we dont feel comfortable or safe servicing these gates with 1.5tonne motor force behind them surely we are within our right to refuse on these grounds.?
Our concerns now are that our employer is putting more and more pressure on us for first time fixes, and expecting us to try everything and get these 1 ton gates fixed. It has been 4 months and we are constantly bringing up the lack of training and knowledge which is worrying us, last week they arranged a training "course", this was twenty minutes of a gate engineer taking us through the basics of how they work, they now want us to sign a sheet saying we have been trained.
I am reminded of the cheshire gate company who were prosecuted after the death of a child crushed in a gate, also I know engineers have been liable and gone to prison for similar cases.
Lads are calling me up because im a bit more clued up on HR side, but im not sure what to say apart from read what you are signing and dont attempt a job you dont feel comfortable with.
Typically we attend a call out, cant fix the gate, isolate and manually open and referr to subby, then follows a strongly worded email from the MD saying this isnt good enough we need it fixed there and then.
No parts are available, still no training, and when something goes wrong guess who gets the blame!
Can anyone experienced advise on where we stand from a legal and HR POV?
If we dont feel comfortable or safe servicing these gates with 1.5tonne motor force behind them surely we are within our right to refuse on these grounds.?