09 Oct 2012
Personal electrical items that haven’t been safety checked are putting UK workers at risk, according to insurance company RSA.
A survey by the firm found that two fifths of the 2,000 employees questioned take a range of electrical items to work, including heaters, hair straighteners and power tools.
Although they are meant to comply with the same regulations as company owned items, just over half (54%) of the workers who took electrical goods into work said they had not been safety-checked.
Almost one in ten (8%) said that a personal electrical device had caught fire at work and a third (34%) of the 9% who said they had suffered an injury, such as a burn or electrical shock, had needed to go hospital.
RSA said its results show how important it is that companies have decent policies and checks in place, and work to ensure employees are aware of them and know what to do if an accident does occur.
Copyright Press Association 2012