BAA fine for volunteer fatality.

[terry m]

£66,000 fine for anglers association following volunteer fatality

An anglers association has been ordered to pay a £66,000 fine after admitting breaching health and safety laws that led to the death of one of its volunteers.

www.ioshmagazine.com

Tragic incident that will undoubtedly make many responsible clubs to review or rethink their approach to work parties or similar.

 

[The bad one]

Indeed it will Terry. The impact for small clubs will probably mean they won't do work parties anymore because they don't have any H & S officers and/or afford to pay for such services.

 

[Philip]

This is sad in so many ways. Obviously, the tragedy itself first and foremost but the knock on effect has the potential to really impact voluntary work parties.

Unfortunately it’s an indication of how life in general is going that everything will become even more controlled and regulated and clubs will probably now have to hire « trained certified professionals » to do the work assuming they can even afford it.

In some ways it could be argued that is good …properly trained people doing the work…but on the other I suspect all it means is more expense for clubs and the job probably done worse than they could do themselves as companies will just outsource it to the cheapest « certified » labor they can find.

The other possibility is that clubs just will just not bother, as they cannot afford it…so fisheries left to decline and in turn, as it is not being maintained fishery owners deciding to lease it to a different water sport who can maintain it so angling being squeezed out even more.

I hope common sense is applied by the authorities and they do not just legistrate it to death now.

 

[no-one in particular]

You have to read through this report fully, health and safety was completely ignored, no recommendations were observed from the AT for this sort of work, chainsaws were used by old men with no training, no training of any sort, the area worked on was not roped off, no signs, no helmets, no nothing. A branch fell on this chaps head and he ended up on life support with brain damage which they then decided to switch off after a week..
How many work parties are like this!? As much as I think health and safety often goes beyond the pale I think they might have had a point in this instance.

 

[John Aston]

Doing a risk assessment isn't difficult - and when I've done them for fishing clubs they can throw up some previously unforeseen nasties. As for chainsaws , we ensure anybody using them has PPE and proper training . It's mainly common sense but doubtless some 'Health and Safety Gone Mad ' dinosaurs will prefer that people died in entirely avoidable accidents . In my old day job I had to attend some inquests of people who'd been killed at work and it is even more of a tragedy when it happens to a volunteer . Unlike civil damages for an injury claim , fines aren't insurable either.

 

[steve2]

Not surprised about the accident and the outcome from the trial.
Club work parties can be accidents waiting to happen just look at the amount of accidents that happen in normal gardening.

In one of my clubs chain saw and tree work can only be used by trained members. If none are available they are hired in and the the fishery is always closed while the work is carried out.

 

[no-one in particular]

I have often thought what I pay for the one club I belong to is cheap, £40 a year with a concession. Its not a well run club, their river sections are unfishable in the summer and the banks are impossible for me to negotiate now. I think they do have work parties but not on the rivers it would seem, they put a sign up and that is the end of it. I would pay more if it meant more work was carried out and if it cost even more to make sure that work was done safely, I wouldn't mind. How much more depends on how much I value what the club gives me, just a couple of stretches really but I would consider it as long as it was explained to me why the fee was going up, but would they bother to explain it!

 

[no-one in particular]

BB

Not surprised about the accident and the outcome from the trial.
Club work parties can be accidents waiting to happen just look at the amount of accidents that happen in normal gardening.

In one of my clubs chain saw and tree work can only be used by trained members. If none are available they are hired in and the the fishery is always closed while the work is carried out.

And what about the other clubs.?

 

[steve2]

Only last week I read that the other much smaller club would be carrying out work on the river section. This would involve cutting back trees on the section and opening up overgrown areas and the river would be closed while this is carried out by hired in professionals.
The fees for this club are above average .

 

[John Aston]

I am convinced that the sole purpose of many working parties is to have a working party. Give a bunch of blokes some saws and clippers and there's just no stopping them- my, what larks! But getting into a frenzy of chopping random branches often does far more harm than good

 

[Steve King]

Very sad. Cutting branches or cutting trees down is full of danger and things can easily go wrong.

Even in a small team, you need to have a clear work plan.

 

[steve2]

I don't know but I assume that most clubs have some kind insurance against accidents and public liability. Although unsupervised work parties would be difficult to cover there will always be someone to blame.
I am sure that in this day of claims chasers they would always find some one.

 

[rayner]

I have been a member or affiliated to many clubs in my 60 odd years as an angler, never once have I volunteered for anything never mind a work party. Being self-employed my time has always been paid for any works done by me.
I am totally against volunteering for free, If the work needs doing then it should be paid for by the club.
Angling clubs generally want the members to work for free. If volunteers are the way to go the volunteers should get at least their subscriptions paid. If not minimum wage for their efforts plus insurance.
It is the mentality of angling clubs to ask for volunteers. Clubs need to figure subscription fees to cover any works that need doing. Of course, the cost of membership will raise. It is far better for all members to pay than the few that do volunteer for work parties. There can not be that much work that needs doing. It should be paid for. A self-employed worker will have his own insurance also be trained in using the tools needed.

 

[no-one in particular]

Where does the riparian owner come into the equation, he allowed the club on his land in the first place and allowed the work to be done. Is there an onus on him or her to make sure the club does this properly; or are they just happy the works get done for nothing.

 

[no-one in particular]

You don't get this problem on commercials, you don't get asked or expected to do any work, another ticked box in their direction.
This fate suffered by this poor chap and this thread just reminds me of something I have thought for a long time, clubs are becoming outdated in their modus operandi. This is one of them, the world of health and safety is catching up with them, shame it cost a life and 66000 quid.

 

[mikench]

The riparian owner cannot possibly owe a duty of care to the members of the club he leases the fishing rights to unless he is negligent himself and fails to disclose significant dangers to the club. A risk assessment has always been carried out by the club for which I have done work parties. I have no doubt though that professional help will be more prevalent and that club fees will rise but that can only be a good thing imo. Bluntly standing in cold water up to your nadgers and wielding a chain saw or axe is not for me under any circumstances nor should it be for pensioners no matter how fit. Some of my waters are so overgrown they are largely unfishable and I'm sure have been Abandoned. One needs to excercise care too if volunteering as contributory negligence can play a part. A WP should not be viewed as a jolly.

 

[no-one in particular]

The riparian owner cannot possibly owe a duty of care to the members of the club he leases the fishing rights to unless he is negligent himself and fails to disclose significant dangers to the club. A risk assessment has always been carried out by the club for which I have done work parties. I have no doubt though that professional help will be more prevalent and that club fees will rise but that can only be a good thing imo. Bluntly standing in cold water up to your nadgers and wielding a chain saw or axe is not for me under any circumstances nor should it be for pensioners no matter how fit. Some of my waters are so overgrown they are largely unfishable and I'm sure have been Abandoned. One needs to excercise care too if volunteering as contributory negligence can play a part. A WP should not be viewed as a jolly.

I understand that, the fishing rights have been leased which allows you to fish but what about the work done on the land, is that included in the fishing rights?

 

[mikench]

It will be but that will always be the responsibility of the tenant and the members. I'm sure insurance will have been in place for the sad event which occurred . Rivers and lakes can be dangerous places.

 

[sam vimes]

I suspect that this signals the beginning of the end for smaller, co-operative, not for profit clubs. The old style club model and modest pricing is likely to have to change. Those clubs with decidedly average waters, that few will pay much for, may not survive the requisite price hikes. The only hope for some will be in having members that are suitably trained and qualified to carry out such work and H&S procedures on an unpaid basis. Many won't have the means to pay for contractors or training for unqualified members.

 

[rayner]

Anglers especially local to me have always fished on a shoestring. They think nothing about spending hundreds of tackle but are extra tight when it comes to the cost of bait or the price of tickets.
Things will have to change.