CES Hire: Toolbox Talk Tuesday: Legal Duties
Have you broken the law?
We all think ourselves as law abiding citizens don’t we? But did you know the average Brit commits 32 offences per year and the majority of the time we have no idea that we’re breaking the law. Among the bizarre laws that may have turned into a minor criminal include singing Happy Birthday in a restaurant. You never see the famous birthday song being sung in films or on the TV and that’s because the rights to the song were purchased by Warner/Chappell for £16million in the 80s so performing this song in public could incur a huge copyright fee! So next time the family whip out the cake in the restaurant, much to your embarrassment, remind them they’re actually breaking the law. Now we’re entitled to our lazy Sundays since law states that hoovering on a Sunday, after 1pm on a Saturday and after 8pm on a weekday would be classed as a nuisance neighbour and you could be classed as breaking the law so next time the other half asks you to whizz the Dyson round at the weekend, remind them you’re actually breaking the law. And how about this law: according to a 1872 law, it is illegal for a landlord/lady to allow drunkenness in their pub…hmmm, I’m not sure I can say I’m totally law-abiding on that one. So along with beeping the horn at that car that cut you up, playing knock down ginger as a child and using some one else’s WiFi without them knowing, we’re not quite the squeaky-clean citizen we thought! This week’s Toolbox Talk is all about your legal duties as an employer and employee so at least we can make sure we’re a little more angelic at work when it comes to the law.
Long supply chains, withheld payments, slim profit lines, pressure from customers, job insecurity and that’s just the stresses of work. Don’t forget there’s also the pressures from home, nags from your partner to fix the taps, oh and the don’t forget the living room needs painting, and then there’s the kids arguing and pestering you for that trip to DisneyLand. All these extra stresses and strains can have a real impact on your mental health. We tend to look after and be far more aware of our physical health; we might head to the gym, pop out for a walk, swap that triple decker sandwich and chocolate for a salad every so often and take a few vitamins all in the name of keeping our physical self in tiptop condition but what do we do for our mental health? How do we look after our brain, one of the most vital organs in our body? It is important to act now and take care of our mental health so that we don’t become part of these recent shocking statistics:
Fake it till you make it
one way to do it and that’s to fake it! A tan may look healthy and leave you feeling smug with those post-holiday comments of ‘looking good mate; how was the holiday?’ In actual fact a tan is a sign of the skin producing a dark pigment called melanin which can lead to skin cancer; so not a healthy look at all! Working in construction and spending an increased amount of time outside, raises the risk of being exposed to those UV (ultraviolet) rays which can lead to skin cancer. HSE research deems construction workers as a significant ‘at risk’ group and with skin cancer cases doubling in the last 20 years and 800 construction workers diagnosed with it per year, it’s time to dive into your other half’s beauty stash and pinch a bit of that bronzed goddess tanning spray! We’ll be going less for the David Dickinson/Peter Andre look and more for the Matthew McConaughey vibes (can I spray on the muscles too?!)
