Reference no: EM133102643

Paul recently had completed a pre-vocational course in hospitality, kitchen operations. As he is keen to become a chef, his teacher had recommended that he should look for an establishment for the purpose of a two week work experience to gain true insights into what this profession means in industry. He had successfully contacted the local hotel which took him on immediately. Now, having completed his work experience last week, Paul is a little confused, as the knowledge he had gained when studying "Follow health, safety and security procedures" at his RTO didn't seem to be in that workplace during the last fortnight.

When Paul started with the establishment there was no induction and it seemed that all staff in the kitchen created their own standards. On the second day the head chef asked Paul to slice the leg ham. Paul noticed that there was no safety guard for the slicer, which would make it a breach to use this piece of equipment. When he pointed this out to the chef, he was told that these mechanisms slow things down and are professionals didn't really need them.

When the second chef used four milk crates to build a pedestal to clean the top of the exhaust fan he was told by the manager that this was an unsafe practice. The chef replied to the manager "I've got no time to waste - we're already short of time as it is". The manager left it at that.

On the third day Paul was asked to clean the grill and the oven at the end of the night, however there were no provisions for Personal Protective Equipment in place. The head chef told Paul that all staff normally would wrap a damp serviette around their nose and wear their sunglasses ..."that always does the job".

The following day a waitress slipped on the wet floor near the pass and fell over backwards. She complained that there should have been a warning sign; however the head chef replied to her that she should come to work sober and use her eyes on the job.

The next morning Paul was told to clean the store room in the basement to make room for the week's large delivery. As he walked down the corridor he encountered two scruffy looking guys carrying two cartons of beer and some bottles of spirits. He reported this to the head chef, who replied that these were most probably delivery guys who fixed up the inconsistencies from the last delivery - who else could they be? He explained to Paul that all deliveries were stored away by the individual suppliers who only came upstairs for a signature once the job was done; .... "the master key for the storage areas usually hangs near the basement entry anyway, but usually no doors are locked as this is a hassle when everyone is busy".

During the last week Paul saw that the outside garbage area was engulfed in smoke. He ran into the kitchen and reported this immediately as he had never dealt with such an emergency before. The chefs on duty told him to grab a bucket of water and extinguish the hazard, as they were busy preparing for lunch. Paul was unsure and asked the manager to get some assistance. Being upset he asked the manager whether he could participate in the next WHS meeting to suggest some aspects for safety and procedural issues. The manager told him that he only needed to do what he is told, as the owners did not pay staff to engage in social meetings which only caused trouble anyway. He stated that: "Procedures and rules are best left to those people in an organisation who have the experience and the brains".

Answer the following questions

1. What is the purpose of an induction program? Why would an induction program improve the health, safety and security practices of Paul's new workplace?

2. Identify at least 4 breaches of health safety and security requirements in the case study:

3. In this case study, when would safety warning signs be useful or a legal requirement?

4. Identify 4 examples of management behaviour that may be considered inappropriate, a breach of requirements, or even bullying:

5. What is wrong with the security procedures regarding stock control? How could they be improved?

6. What is wrong with the emergency procedures? How could they be improved?

7. Why does Paul want to be involved in the meetings? What is the legal requirement for this?