Workers at a top energy firm have been told they must reverse into parking spaces to comply with health and safety rules.
The guideline was the top ‘golden rule’ that 20,000 staff at Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) must follow.
Staff at the firm were also told that they must hold the handrail when using stairs, and if they disobey the rules, they should expect a ‘challenge’ from colleagues and even disciplinary action.
Scottish and Southern Energy confirmed to the Daily Mail that if a worker continually refused to respond to challenges, the issue would be raised with their boss.
A spokesman said: “Reversing into a static parking bay is safer than reversing out into a road or car park, which may have traffic and pedestrian movement which you cannot easily see.
“A quick internet search will highlight the number of fatalities each year arising from people falling down stairs.
“If everyone held the handrail when going up and down stairs it might not prevent all deaths, but it would probably prevent many of them.”
About 1,000 people die from falling down stairs in Britain each year.
