Are unhygienic kitchens making us ill at work?
Are unhygienic kitchens making us ill at work? Grimy kitchens are just one of the many dangers faced in the workplace. Filthy toilets are also a threat to health. Slippery floors and ripped carpets are trip hazards and injury at work claims can arise.
Whether in offices, warehouses, factories, building sites, or shops, workers escalate reports about health hazards in their workplace. If an employee went to the management team but saw no improvements, then personal injury solicitors are often the next port of call. Injury complaints can also include accidents due to unsafe equipment – even chairs. Some might have been to the hospital due to a work-related illness and asked for detailed reports from the medical staff.
British workers do seek legal advice after suffering an illness or injury. Some of these claims are serious enough for workers to receive compensation. Unhygienic kitchens with slippery floors cause workplace injuries such as cuts, strains from falls, and even lost body parts due to injury.
Good Hygiene Benefits Business
Good hygiene makes good business sense. Poor hygiene can cause food poisoning. Harmful germs, viruses and bacteria can affect everyone – even the most healthy. Bacteria spread from people to food by a simple touch of the nose, mouth, hair or clothes, and then surfaces where food is prepared. It is possible to avoid illnesses as a result of messy kitchens.
Sickness days are a real problem. Nobody wants to catch an illness during their employment. Food poisoning or stomach bugs from dirty conditions can be avoided when everyone follows expected hygiene standards.
Food poisoning is caused by unclean kitchen surfaces or eating something handled by someone who has not washed their hands. Common bacteria found in kitchens include ecoli, salmonella, norovirus, and in some instances, hepatitis A. Bacteria such as ecoli survives for hours on surfaces. The hepatitis A bacteria can survive for months. Someone with hepatitis A is most infectious a couple weeks before symptoms appear.
Displaying an accessible poster of rules is a great place to start. Top of the hygienic kitchen rules list is washing hands! The workplace kitchen rules can include advice about thoroughly cooking food, correctly storing cold food, simple options for the correct wipe down of countertops, bin basics and how to stop grease spills and other relevant facts and procedures.
Keeping Your workplace kitchen germ-free can stop sickness bugs in their tracks. There are many ways to stop unhygienic kitchens from making us ill at work, such as adequate lighting to encourage clean habits and worktops clear of unnecessary items to maintain excellent standards. Encouraging everyone to clean up the cooking mess immediately is advisable. Clean every surface regularly. Clean the sink regularly. Provide a fresh supply of dishtowels as well as handtowels. Ensure adequate hand soap, sanitiser, and hand wash facilities separate from the food preparation and pot washing areas.
Assured Cleaning work with companies across the North West including: Chester, Clitheroe, Leeds, Stockport, Ormskirk, Liverpool, Manchester, Widnes, Wigan and Rochdale.
We are specialists in commercial kitchen cleaning and kitchen duct cleaning. If you want to know more about the best ways to help protect your workforce from becoming ill at work, don’t hesitate to contact us today.
