I was talking to a colleague who works for a large established remodeling company. For every quarter in which he is not injured he receives a $100 US savings bond. I didn’t clarify it with him but I assume that injury-free means that there are no workers comp claims. Policy applies to every carpenter in the company. On the one hand I like the idea of a safety bonus but I also wonder if this deters people from making legitimate claims. Anyone else heard of this or similar?
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Standard but yes of course it does. Why do you think the company considers it worthwhile to hand out money?
Out west I knew hundreds of guys working for logging, mining and milling operations where similar policies were in effect. Guys would regularly ignore injuries and occasionally fairly serious ones, in order to keep getting the perks for staying away from the doctor.
Sometimes it was extra vacation days, sometimes group awards to put peer pressure to work, sometimes simple cash like you said, maybe a picture in the company newsletter....
Kinda dumb how cheaply some of us can be bought off ain't it?
On the other hand, ( why do I feel like Clinton every time I say that?) it probably helps off set the people who will run to the emergency room for eery little bruise or hangnail and drive everyones rates up.
Excellence is its own reward!
On the large civil projects I work on, there are safety incentive clauses for the contractor. On a recent contract, every incident-free month resulted in a large luncheon at the end of the month and usually HD gift certificates for the laborers. On a job with heavy machinery and rock blasting, the injuries were few (5 or less) and all minor. The worst incident was a hand requiring stitches and the worker returned an hour later to finish his shift. The days of X deaths per million spent are long gone, but it is still amazing how safe job sites can be run....that's not a mistake, it's rustic
We used to have safety lunches with prizses- shirts, hats, tools, etc., every month. Does it cause people to not make claims? I doubt it- unless they're really stupid and willing to suffer for a shirt. Does it make them think a little more about safety? Possibly, and that's the whole idea behind it- work safer- not avoid claiming an injury.
Bob
Maybe not for a shirt, Bob, but up the antii to fifty bucks for an accident free month and a chance at a dinner party or even a cruise vacation for the group with most unijured hours consecutively running, and you change your storey. I've seen it..
Excellence is its own reward!
I guess my question is a legal one. Seems to me an employee could be hurt and not report it because there's this company culture against the reporting of injuries. Especially when a group is involved--you have an injury therefore my check goes down. Laws about the speed of reporting and the diligence of claim handling by the employer are quire strict. Seems like something a lawyer could attack if their client claimed they were encouraged not to report. Not a strong case, but a case nonetheless.
I don't know how it would work from that management end. When I was seeing it, it was from the labor end of things.
I agree there are things that get worse if you ignore them and expect them to go away.
For instance, a small metal sliver in the eyeball. A guy might think it is just an irritation or small scratch and ignore it when it first gets lodged there. Then three days later, it migrates into the inside of the eyeball and starts doing real damage. Then how easy is it for that guy to prove that it happened on the job, when the rules clearly say that he has to report injuries within 24hrs. He has compromised his case and his health..
Excellence is its own reward!
Im going to approve this measure with out delay and send it on.
Tim Mooney
our is a 1000 hours, then it usally a dinner or day off with pay. Couple years ago boss sent whole company to Destin Fla for weekend at beach, 230 employees with family. all paid for.
The best employee you can have but you wouldn't want him as a neighbor " He the shifty type"
It's pretty common on big commercial jobs. The contractor gets discounts on insurance premiums on the next job or something. The contractor then gives employees incentive to work save. I worked on a big stadium job a few years back. The job ended with no recordables. The contractor gave everybody jackets,coolers and savings bonds etc. At the end of the job they gave away a brand new F-150. Some electrician won it. Hows that for incentive?
Edited 12/21/2003 6:54:23 PM ET by jpawlikowsky