Title: Keeping well at work.
Author: Philip Pearson
Publisher: A TUC guide, Kogan Page, 2001
ISBN: 0749435755
Price: GBP 8.99
Buy this book from the TrainingZONE – Blackwells bookshop.
I did like this book. Read from start to finish it provides a comprehensive layman’s guide to Health and Safety for “white collar” workers, including shop staff and call centre staff.
It is written in an easy to read style, with case studies drawn from real-life experiences, and discussions about the issues involved. This real-life emphasis is quite disturbing – many of the cases cited do not end happily, and the text is clear that prevention is better than seeking action when it is too late. I was concerned that, since it is published by the TUC, there would be a lot of tub-thumping about how wonderful unions are, but this is not the case, and readers who are unsympathetic towards unions will find little to complain about.
I would recommend this book to almost everyone – after all, we all work, and hence we are all potentially at risk in the workplace. The book does a good job of explaining the legislation, and the implications of that legislation, and, most usefully, covers issues which aren’t usually thought
of as workplace problems – violence, bullying, muscle aches, PMS and what to expect from your doctor. Definitely essential reading for everyone working within personnel, union or workplace reps, most people concerned with health
and safety issues, and managers who want to know the implications of H&S within their area. This book taught me more about H&S in the workplace than any one day course could have ever done. The only note which jarred were
the advertisements for personal injury law firms. I could understand advertising if it were a freebie, but this is not a cheap book, and I am surprised that the TUC felt it was appropriate to allow this.
Still, a few advertisements are a small price to pay for this interesting, useful and informative volume. With contact addresses for further help and information it should be in every office library, every personnel
department, and every coffee room.
Stephen Pridgeon
Training Co-Ordinator, London Borough of Ealing.
