Watching someone slip at work can often appear funny but slipping accidents are no laughing matter.

There were almost 11000 serious work injuries caused by slipping or tripping last year and many claims for compensation. They are the single most common cause of major injury in our workplaces and are often the start of some accidents ascribed to some other cause such as scalding, a number of accidents involving machinery and falls from height.

Common Causes of slipping accidents

One of the most common causes is because of inadequate flooring or the cleaning of floors. The floor in a workplace has to be suitable for the type of work activity needed. Workers should be able to walk on a floor without fearing that they might slip and any cleaning of it has to be properly notified to the workforce by notices or warnings. The employer is under a duty to maintain flooring to ensure that there are no trip hazards such as tears or holes and if there are changes of level then they should be highlighted.

Another obvious cause of workplace slipping accidents is contamination of some sort, i.e. anything that ends up on the floor that shouldn't be there, either as a result of the work processes, like oil or grease, or the weather, like rainwater or water walked in by other employees. There can be water on floors caused by leaking roofs or hazards caused by items like cardboard or product wrappers made of polythene or similar.
All of these and an endless list of other things can find their way onto a floor and it is the employer’s responsibility to minimise or avoid the risk of injury as a result. The use of drip trays to catch spillages, mats at the entrances for workers to wipe their feet on and education of the workforce about tidiness in the working routine are all sorts of things a responsible employer should consider.

Regrettably people who work with us are often responsible for slipping accidents, they fail to deal with spillages, leaving it for someone else to clean up or they abandon wrappers on floors causing a hazard to others

The environment plays a part as well. Workers making an early start on a winter’s morning are often at risk of slipping on ice in car parks. It is the responsibility of the employer to ensure that where practicable i.e. when there are obvious signs of poor weather, there should be a gritting regime.

Wet floors caused by condensation are another cause and a number of accidents are as a result of poor lighting. Impractical footwear can often lead to slips.

Duties of the employer and employees.

The duties of employees to each other are touched on above but clearly the main responsibilities lie with an employer who apart from various statutory regulations, has a duty to provide a safe system of working (and safe fellow employees).Regular risk assessments need to be carried out and floors cleaned regularly with adequate wet warnings given to workers.

What sort of workers are at risk?

Every work situation presents a potential for a slipping accident but some are more obvious candidates than others, such as the catering industry where over 70% of reported injuries are caused by slipping or tripping; hospitals have a high level as well as do schools and many offices where nearly 30% of slipping accidents are on stairs or steps, nearly as many again on the shop floor and just as many outside.
All sorts of workers are at risk and accidents have been recorded to university lecturers slipping on wet floors, delivery drivers slipping in oil, and factory workers falling because plastic ties that had been used as fasteners for deliveries had been left on the floor.

Injuries caused

Injuries are many and varied ranging from minor sprains to fatalities, cuts and bruises to fractures. In one accident a woman slipped on the kitchen floor of a care home and died when a knife she was carrying severed an artery, in another, a young woman received serious burns when she slipped and in trying to break her fall, put her arm into a deep fat fryer.

Whatever the injury caused, the results can be dramatic, resulting in time off work and loss of earnings and if you have been involved in a slipping accident at work you should seek specialist advice to ascertain whether you might have a claim.