Can my employer force me to wear a bike helmet on my commute

[reohn2]

If someone is clearly identified as an employee of X Ltd and do something in their own time which could bring the firm into disrepute they can be disciplined up to and including dismissal. Not wearing a cycle helmet when riding to work hardly falls into that category.

I don't see how a failure to wear a plastic hat can bring a firm into disrepute, unless the OP works for a cycle helmet manufacturer.

Even then it should be their human right to refuse.

[mjr]

I don't see how a failure to wear a plastic hat can bring a firm into disrepute, unless the OP works for a cycle helmet manufacturer.

Even then it should their human right to refuse.

Indeed. I've worked for a cigarette-packing company and I don't smoke (nor would I, after seeing the ooze that gums up the packing machines). I know someone who works for a castor manufacturer but sometimes sits on chairs with simple wooden legs!

[The utility cyclist]

I think my point is made. With or without the rolling eyes.

No you didn't make any point whatsoever. in essence you said that if it were something else aside from helmets that was being forced upon someone that was unfair or not proven to increase safety or broke their basic human rights and was clear discrimination no-one would be so bothered, hence the rolling eyes!
Read again what you wrote and explain how what you wrote is in any way a valid point because to me it simply is not.

Many threads have cropped up over the years when people have talked about how unfair X has been, totally unrelated to helmets and forummers have gotten annoyed, posted lots of repllies, lots of "steaming nostrils" with how someone was dealt with and passed comments of support against X, you're simply dismissing out of hand all of that and making a nonsenical statement that is simply not true!

Anyway, based on not very much info from the OP we've had a lot of steaming nostrils and heat under the collar, much of which is because it's a helmet thread.

[thirdcrank]

I have a limited experience of advising people with problems with their contract of employment as a volunteer CAB advisor. Just like the OP, people with such a problem often pose their own question, when advising them involves ascertaining their employment situation and even then there are "what if's." FWIW, I doubt if an employer can compel somebody to commuting by pedal cycle to wear a helmet but I tried to explain how the system works and what the employer's thinking might be: understanding what the other side believes can be helpful in reaching a solution.

Deciding what the outcome "must" be and then working backwards is unlikely to be helpful.

[Steady rider]

It seems more and more aspects of life are trying to be controlled. I would be interested to know which employer?

[Cunobelin]

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/jun/01/construction-firm-mears-bans-workers-from-having-beards

Workers will be allowed to wear their beards to and from work but not on site.

Different case entirely.

These are workers, working in a dangerous environment which requires PPE. IN order for that PPE to be effective there may be some changes required.

It is, at work, under a proper hierarchical assessment and using approved equipment which the employer provides and maintains.

[Cunobelin]

Lets just accept this......for a second, with the presumption that there is evidence that helmets have a health benefit

The Company in the best interests of the employee decides that they can impose a cycle helmet outside working premises and hours


Then lets take it a step further.

There is a ban in my workplace on mobile phones use. Should the employer ban their use whilst travelling to or from work?

My employer has a total Smoking ban. There is proven evidence that it is harmful. So interesting same way as the cycle helmet the employer now decides to ban all employees from smoking whilst trying travelling to or from work?

Mw employer has a total alcohol ban, should having a drink with colleagues onto way home be banned?


The question is why anyone should accept a compulsion from the employer outside their working hours for a helmet, yet the above would all be unacceptable

[Vorpal]

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/jun/01/construction-firm-mears-bans-workers-from-having-beards

Workers will be allowed to wear their beards to and from work but not on site.

Different case entirely.

These are workers, working in a dangerous environment which requires PPE. IN order for that PPE to be effective there may be some changes required.

It is, at work, under a proper hierarchical assessment and using approved equipment which the employer provides and maintains.

I also think that it is a bunch of ****. There is no reason, other than *maybe* expense that the company can't provide dust masks that fit properly over beards. It's not really relevant to this thread, in any case because, as you rightly point out, it relates to PPE, from which the Health and Safety Executive have specifically exceluded cycle helmets.

[LollyKat]

My bearded son is a civil engineer in Australia. Last year he was working on a deep tunnel construction where there was the same issue with beards and dust masks. We asked him about alternatives - there are fan powered, battery operated loose fitting hoods and visors which blow clean air across the face under pressure, but these rely on enough clean air around the wearer to prevent the dust. In the tunnel they would have needed full suits and compressed air tanks which would have been a bit unwieldy.

In my son's case he only needed to shave part of the jaw and he ended up with a very elegant goatee. Of course this wouldn't be acceptable to some religious groups.

[reohn2]

My bearded son is a civil engineer in Australia. Last year he was working on a deep tunnel construction where there was the same issue with beards and dust masks. We asked him about alternatives - there are fan powered, battery operated loose fitting hoods and visors which blow clean air across the face under pressure, but these rely on enough clean air around the wearer to prevent the dust. In the tunnel they would have needed full suits and compressed air tanks which would have been a bit unwieldy.

In my son's case he only needed to shave part of the jaw and he ended up with a very elegant goatee. Of course this wouldn't be acceptable to some religious groups.

The blown air visors you mention are very good as the air blown down the front the of the face are very good as the air is forced trough a replaceable filter, though only really any use in light ambient dust (I have one for sanding and woodturning,in conjuction with a hanging ambient dust extractor.
In heavy dust laden atmospheres such as enclosed tunnelling (which I've also worked in in coal mining)the air shouldn't be that bad if effective dust suppression sprays are used,dust suppression is an art with the trick being to wet tunnel spoil before it gets air born and to keep the floor of the tunnel either wet or clean,easier said than done.
I digress as my mind takes a trip to the past.......

[Vorpal]

My bearded son is a civil engineer in Australia. Last year he was working on a deep tunnel construction where there was the same issue with beards and dust masks. We asked him about alternatives - there are fan powered, battery operated loose fitting hoods and visors which blow clean air across the face under pressure, but these rely on enough clean air around the wearer to prevent the dust. In the tunnel they would have needed full suits and compressed air tanks which would have been a bit unwieldy.

In my son's case he only needed to shave part of the jaw and he ended up with a very elegant goatee. Of course this wouldn't be acceptable to some religious groups.

Powered respirators can be used for people with facial hair. They do need *some* clearish air aorund, but if the air is that dirty, tanks (pressurised air) and hoods might be the safest solution, anyway. A construction site is unlikely to be that dirty.

A suit isn't needed to use tanks; they can work with a hood. Tanks and full face masks/hoods also introduces the need for additional training, but I think it is reasonable to offer it for those who want it, if conditions are that dirty. They can be a bit unwieldy, but people get used to them, too. They have to be used in some very restricted spaces, like people who do confined space rescue.

The company I work for provides powered respirators, if people want them. Some of these Norwegian guys have big Viking beards, with stuff braided into them (The HSE manager makes them tie them up, like long hair; you get the idea). Also, we have facilities in countries that have large Muslim populations.

[thirdcrank]

... Some of these Norwegian guys have big Viking beards, with stuff braided into them ...

What's the position with horns on their helmets.

Sounds like my ancestor, Hagar the Horrible.

[pete75]

It's you who is making the quite sweeping statement that someone who believes cycle helmets are an aid to safety is a fool whose business will fail so it's up to you to provide evidence other than your own opinion and/or pedantry to back it up.

That's your rewriting, not a statement I made.

I'd look for another job because a company seems likely to fail sooner or later if it's run by a fool who believes in magic hats despite all evidence.

Not far off is it ? Nothing is actually proven and the evidence for helmet or no helmet is fairly inconclusive either way - it really is a matter of belief. Don't wear one myself but wouldn't regard anyone who does or believes in their effectiveness a fool.

[Vorpal]

... Some of these Norwegian guys have big Viking beards, with stuff braided into them ...

What's the position with horns on their helmets.

Sounds like my ancestor, Hagar the Horrible.

Well, that's my perception of them, anyway (or at least a good way to describe it?)

[reohn2]

... Some of these Norwegian guys have big Viking beards, with stuff braided into them ...

What's the position with horns on their helmets.

Sounds like my ancestor, Hagar the Horrible.

Well, that's my perception of them, anyway (or at least a good way to describe it?)

I've have a friend with a Norse-like beard and wild long shoulder length hair,his beard's sometimes plaited sometimes in a ponytail with a celtic ring,he looks fierce but is the softest spoken mildest mannered man I've ever met