TRUTH
Fall protection must be provided when employees are performing working at height on a working surface with an unprotected side or edge, or wherever there is a risk of a fall.
The length of time needed to perform that work has no bearing on the employers duty to provide fall protection, and the employees duty to use it…be it on minute or one hour.
In 2010-11, 7730 workers’ compensation claims for serious injury were lodged due to a fall from a height. This means that each day 21 employees experienced a fall and were unable to work for at least one week.
“Falls from height accounted for 6% of all serious workers’ compensation claims in 2010-11. A workers’ compensation claim is classed as serious when it involves a fatality, a permanent incapacity or a temporary incapacity that requires one or more weeks off work.”