Need a good chair

[* E r i c a *]

Can anyone recommend a good chair to buy as my one at work is not doing me any favours. I was diagnosed with a broad based disc bulg (L5) and a herniation (L4) in june last year from an MRI.
Im 6'3" so my height does not help. I work as a technician for an electronics company so im sitting most of the time. Im also UK based and cant see my company wanting to spend loads of cash. There must be a good chair that i can buy.

Thanking you in advance

Paul

 

[!Yabsype]

Hi Paul,
It is difficult to recommend a chair for you without seeing you in your workplace. Have you mentioned this to your manager? Does your company have an occupational health department? If so you should go along and tell them about your back problem and ask for a workstation assessment. There may be other things that can be done to help, such as raising your worktable for instance. Any recommendations made by the OHE must then be complied with by your manager. Responsibility for Health and Safety used to sit at company level, but now every manager is repsonsible for the health and safety of their staff.

As for your company not wanting to pay for the chair, they have no choice - under the Health and Safety Act and the Disability Discrimination Act they are legally obliged to provide the equipment you need to do your job safely without causing injury to yourself. If they refused to pay for the chair, then they leave themselves liable to a legal claim by yourself.

Besides, what's going to cost them more in the long run, a new chair or spates of absence because your back is playing you up?
It doesn't answer your original question, but I hope that helps!
Amber

 

[smulfisulse]

Hi Amber Lady, They will pay for the chair but i could not see them wanting to pay like £500+ as they company is a little strapped for cash.

We dont have an OHT.

Paul

 

[The Bible (gives Hope)]

Hi Paul,
You probably won't need a chair that expensive - I have had an employee with more complex issues than you, he needed 2 chairsand I think we spent a total of £300.

If your company doesn't have an OHT, how do they address Health and Safety issues?
At my last company we didn't have a dedicated team, but HR and all managers were trained in Health and Safety, including doing workstation assessments. Then on a periodical basis (I think it was annually) they got an external consultant in to do a full H&S inspection.

Find out what your company does and tap into that.
Amber

 

[Dante P]

My company is only about 25 strong.

I can think of another 2 who have back problems like myself.

 

[Ana P]

All companies, however small, must comply with health and safety law.
If your company employs 5 or more people they must have a health and safety statement and a health and safety representative.
You as an employee also have responsibilites under health and safety law.
If you want to know more about your rights and responsibilities under the health and Safety law then visit [link=http://www.hse.gov.uk]www.hse.gov.uk[/link]

3 people with back problems represents 12% of the workforce - I would say it's in the company's interest to take action, particularly as in a small company just one person off sick can have a major impact.

[sm=soapbox.gif]I'm sorry to be on a bit of a soapbox with this one, but I used to work for a company keeping those with long-term health issues in the the workplace and helping the disabled back into work. We also worked with companies with a high injury or sickness record to help them identify things that could be changed in the workplace to reduce their sickess record.I saw so many people who had their medical situation worsened by the workplace. So many thought things like "but I had the problem when I came here so I shouldn't expect them to do anything about it" or "but I don't like to make a fuss" or "but it's only a small company - I don't like to ask". Then when their medical condition worsened because of their working conditions and they couldn't do their job any longer, the company lost a skilled worker and the employee lost their livelihood and sometimes even more. Where we pointed things out to the employer they were always astounded and wanted to know why the employee hadn't said anything!

So, even if you do decide to buy your own chair, why not ask for any assistance the company can (and should!) give you? You might be pleasantly surprised!
I'll get off that soapbox now![sm=hidesbehindsofa.gif]