24 December 2019
Summary
Following the awareness raising phase of the targeted initiative carried out by the Health and Safety Inspectorate (HSI) earlier in the year, the Inspectorate has completed a series of visits to a cross section of hotels and other guest accommodation. The approach to the assessment and management of the risk of falls from windows, balconies and Juliette balconies was reviewed.
Findings
A total of 21 premises were visited, including large and small hotels, guest houses and hostels, selected to represent a cross section of the industry. In general, there was a good awareness of the initiative and the guidance produced by the HSI, which had been circulated in October in conjunction with the Jersey Hospitality Association (JHA) and the Hospitality & Leisure Department of the Government of Jersey (HLD).
The majority of those visited had assessed their window safety and where additional measures were required, had either taken action to help minimise the risks of a fall or were planning to carry out work during the closed season. However:
- 38% of those visited had not prepared out an adequate risk assessment in respect of windows, balconies and Juliette balconies
- 54% had not taken suitable and sufficient measures to prevent the risk of a fall from windows
- 57% had balconies and/or Juliette balconies with barriers which fell below the minimum recommended height to protect against falls
In two cases it was identified that guests were permitted to sign a disclaimer if they wished to have window restrictors removed or unlocked, thereby enabling windows to be fully opened. This is not an acceptable policy or permissible under the Health and Safety at Work (Jersey) Law 1989, and those concerned therefore withdrew this option.
Action taken
All interventions were carried out in accordance with the HSI Enforcement policy statement.
In most cases this resulted in advice and guidance being provided to help ensure compliance with the minimum legal requirements relating to the assessment and control of the risk of falls from windows, balconies and Juliette balconies.
In two cases, however, formal enforcement action was taken, with an Improvement Notice being served on two duty holders who, despite having five or more employees, had no written health and safety policy or risk assessments as required by the Health and Safety at Work (Jersey) Law 1989.
Conclusions
The industry has been very supportive of the initiative, and the HSI would like to thank the JHA and HLD for their collaboration and assistance in raising awareness of the minimum standards.
The visits were typically well received and those provided with advice and guidance, whether face to face or by telephone and/or email, were obviously committed to ensuring their guests safety. Whilst the majority of those contacted had already taken steps to minimise the risk of falls, the number of premises where the window safety assessment had identified that remedial action was required was surprising to the HSI.
Further information
Further details of the initiative, including guidance on risk assessments and the legal requirements, are available in the website article Preventing falls from windows and Juliette balconies .
Should you require any further information, please contact the HSI on 447300 or email hsi@gov.je
gov.je