The claimant was a care assistant at an old persons home. While taking food out of a hot food trolley, she burned her arm. The plates were stacked at the back of the trolley and she was using a tea towel to take them out.
The defendants said they supplied long gauntlets for this work. The claimant said it was awkward to use the gauntlet as it was difficult to grip plates. A witness agreed with that criticism.
The defendant accepted it was a matter of choice whether gloves were worn or not.
The Judge said it should have been mandatory to use suitable gauntlet gloves and not advisory. By not enforcing this requirement the defendants were in breach of their statutory duty under Regulation 5 of the Work Equipment Regulations and Workplace Regulations and also had failed to comply with the Manual Handling Regulations.
Leeds County Court, 24 July 2009.