Guru Blog

Browse by Tags

• baggage handlers
• bags
• chalet
• Christmas
• Christmas spirit
• council
• danger
• dinner
• elf
• employee relations
• employee wellbeing
• employees
• entertainment
• event
• events
• Farming
• fleas
• guests
• health & safety
• Health and Safety Executive
• holiday
• horror
• HR
• HSE
• Industrial action
• jobs
• noise pollution
• office
• office antics
• planes
• sacking
• sit-in
• sky
• strategy
• strikes
• table
• tameside
• toilet
• training
• tribunal
• unfair dismissal
• video
• waiter
• wales
• walks
• workplace accident
• workplace relationships
• workplace safety

• Industrial action - elf-style

  In a bah humbug move, the authorities have shut down Santa's Grotto. Not the Santa's Grotto, you understand, but the no doubt somewhat grottier (ho, ho, ho) version lurking in the carpark in the Knocknagoney branch of Tesco . That's in Belfast, my cousin Seamus O'Guru reliably informs me. Why the lack of yuletide spirit? Guru hears that... Posted Dec 02 2009, 10:13 AM by Guru Filed under: strikes, Christmas, Christmas spirit, health and safety, Industrial action, sit-in, elf, noise pollution

• Kanga-rude office behaviour

  Workplace pests can take many forms. Mice nibbling at cables, fleas hopping across carpets, even lecherous colleagues lurking in the stationery room are all part and parcel of working life and, as such, evoke no sympathy whatsover. But even Guru experienced a fleeting twinge of compassion on hearing of the plight of beleagured Australian psychologist... Posted Sep 22 2009, 09:47 AM by Guru Filed under: office antics, entertainment, office, health and safety, employee wellbeing, workplace relationships

• Pig farming - a career for the hard of hearing?

  Guru - like so many innocent observers - has long laboured under the opinion that farming is a gentle profession, peopled by chubby rosy-cheeked types in cords and Barbours. Yet it appears that some of these brave types are facing, day in, day out, a hitherto unknown peril - the noisy pig. According to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), a bunch... Posted May 26 2009, 12:00 PM by Guru Filed under: jobs, health and safety, Farming, HSE, danger, Health and Safety Executive

• Worker gives 'chunky soup' a whole new meaning

  Last week saw a sad occurence at the Erasco soup factory at Lubeck , Germany, when a hapless 36 year old worker took his product knowledge just a bit too far. He climbed into a cauldron to clean it, only for the lid to shut, trapping him inside. The disinfectation process - involving lots and lots of steam - kicked in and he ended up, not to put too... Posted May 19 2009, 10:00 AM by Guru Filed under: health & safety, training, health and safety, workplace accident, workplace safety

• Health and safety training gets gruesome

  "The first thing you have to do is look to see what might happen to you." So says the 'Voice of Experience' in this epic health and safety video somewhat ominously titled Will You Be Here Tomorrow? Rather than words of advice, it could be the tag line for the latest horror film release. The video is shot in what Guru thinks is the... Posted Apr 15 2009, 10:23 AM by Guru Filed under: health & safety, video, health and safety, horror

• Waitress gets the sack - and a dose of fleas

  News reaches Guru of a particularly unpleasant tribunal case that he guarantees you will be unable to read about without scratching. The BBC reports waitress Maria Moon won an unfair dismissal claim after being sacked for complaining she had been bitten by fleas. Moon was living in a chalet at Hafan y Môr holiday centre in north-west Wales. She told... Posted Feb 11 2009, 08:10 AM by Guru Filed under: health & safety, holiday, tribunal, health and safety, sacking, fleas, unfair dismissal, wales, chalet

• Tameside Council nails strategic HR

  Good to see the HR team at Tameside Council in Greater Manchester really adding value. Guru received a press release about the council encouraging its staff to get some fresh air at lunchtimes with the launch of 'Urbanwalks'. The six walks start from the council's offices with each employee receiving a leaflet containing maps along with... Posted Feb 02 2009, 07:51 AM by Guru Filed under: HR, health & safety, council, employee relations, employees, health and safety, tameside, strategy, walks

• Lightening the load for baggage handlers

  One of the deeply disturbing factors of travelling abroad - be it for business or pleasure - is that dreaded moment at the airport check in. No, not when the woman with the pinned on smile asks you whether you packed your bag yourself (no, love, I got the head of an Al-Qaeda terror cell to do it for me). It's the point when you put your luggage... Posted Jan 26 2009, 11:00 AM by Guru Filed under: health & safety, health and safety, bags, baggage handlers, planes

• Anyone fancy dinner in the sky?

  Events people are always looking for that killer venue that will attract delegates in their droves. In Guru's experience, it's amazing how much a swanky venue can persuade people to give up their evening or drag themselves out the office at lunchtime. So what about this for something a little bit different? Dinner in the Sky is hosted at a table... Posted Jan 16 2009, 07:51 AM by Guru Filed under: health & safety, toilet, waiter, events, event, guests, sky, dinner, health and safety, table