The Legal Requirements and Role of Fire and Rescue Manager - Assignment Example

LAW AND MANAGEMENT LAW AND MANAGEMENT Insert name: Insert course code: Instructor’s name: 18 February, 2011. Introduction Firing an employee or a fellow manager is none of the toughest tasks a factory manager can face. And due to the emotional stakes involved, it is also the task most likely to land your company into legal trouble. When you fire an employee, or a manager, some amount of his or her dignity, self-esteem, and livelihood is affected; it is comprehensible that a poorly handled termination might lead a disgruntled employee to the courthouse door. Since firing poses considerable risk to the company, it is very important to consider the decision carefully. Whenever an incident occurs in a company, it is important to carry out a post-incident analysis. This is because valuable information can be gotten from a post-incident analysis. Rather than first firing the worker, it is important to retain him or her until all analyses are done and the cause of the predicament revealed. When a fire brings down a whole factory, the fire and rescue manager can be of great help in investigations and thus should not be fired immediately even if it was his fault. Knowing this, we are going to discuss the legal and managerial issues that arise when a fire occurs and consume the whole company. The legal requirements and role of fire and rescue manager There are certain facts that should be put into consideration whenever a company is being set up. Furthermore, various regulations must be met when employing workers in an organization. The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (RRO) and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 (MHSWR)stress that fire and rescue supervisors conduct fire risk evaluation in addition to offering and maintaining such fire precautions as are required to guard those that utilize the place of work. They also demand that the human resources are given correct information, coaching and training relating to the fire precautions. According to RRO, it is the task of the individual constructing the premises to make sure that fire safety measures are adhered to. It is also the role of the Responsible Person to review the dangers of fire and take actions to lessen or eliminate those risks. The RRO imposes obligations in respect of firefighting, fire detection, emergency routes and exits, as well as procedures to handle serious and imminent hazard. The RRO consists of the common safety measures that a fire and rescue service manager is supposed to carry out: reducing the risk of fire as well as the risk of fire spread on the premises; means of escape from premises; making sure that the means of escape can be safely and effectively be used at all times; means for fighting fires; means for detecting fire and giving warning in the case of fire; and plans for action to be taken in the even of fire, including measures for the instruction and training of employees to mitigate the effects of fire (Davies, 2011 p. 295). The fire departments require to create opportunities for their workers and members to grow. It is as well their responsibility to ensure that the organization offers high quality, cost-effective customer service. To achieve this, the department requires developing competent staff. It is also the responsibility of the fire and rescue manager to conduct training programs with an aim of broadening the base of knowledge and experiences for the fire officers. They should also be trained for the infrequently occurring and highly technical incidents, like the case in our case study. Managerial issues Each time a human-made calamity takes place, the biggest question is always what caused it. Can the inferno have been as a result of human or a system’s or a technical failure? Several are the cases where the fire and rescue manager are blamed whenever a fire brings down a factory and if there are casualties. Although the act or omission of a person may precipitate a tragedy, the origin of the occurrence is probable to lie deep within the systems, point of view and employees of association, or is likely to engage a number of persons over a period of time. According to past incidences, it has been noted that fire has time and again been caused, not chiefly by people but by faults, misjudgment, failures or even carelessness of higher administration because they fail to encourage a culture of safety in an association. With most human-made tragedies, it is more likely to be one of a series of faults, many of them made by other people long before the fire and rescue manager’s error culminates in the disaster. Thus the fire in the factory could not have been caused by a main error. It could have been a combination of equipment failure, management failure and human error, in that there was a failure to heed advice and warnings over an extended period, compounded by lack of judgment at the material time. Every manager should note that even though human error is frequently quoted as the cause of an accident, there is little that can be done to prevent people making errors, particularly those due to a moment’s forgetfulness. In most cases, it is easier to blame the error of an individual on the front line than to analyze the shortcomings of a corporation or its safety procedures. This is a managerial issue that arises especially when the management does not understand that it is extremely rare that a single simple piece of negligence can cause a disaster. Generally, the occurrence of a disaster involves a series of mistakes, some small in their individual impact, which on average lead to the disaster (Cote, 2003 p. 326). Hindsight is another managerial issue that arises, which is a specific science indicating that people ought not to be judged on facts that become known after an incident. It comprises of three fundamental characteristics: first, people have the ability to follow a certain sequence of events that resulted to the occurrence of the incident; second, they are now aware of the true nature of the situation in which those involved found themselves, as opposed to the situation they thought they were in; and lastly, since they have gotten a lot of information, they are in a position of identifying what those involved lacked, what they ought not to have missed, what they did and what they never did and ought to have been done (Moore & Lakha, 2006 p. 325). In the aftermath of tragedies, the anger of judging people in hindsight has frequently been the subject of comment. I would suggest that if we are looking back upon a resolution which has already taken place, just like most decisions that have no comprehensive information, it is significant that we ought not to evaluate the actions of decision-makers too harshly in the light of the knowledge which hindsight gives us. A good number of factories are fixed with automatic fire systems that detect the possibility of a fire occurring. This factory is one of which has the automated fire detecting systems. As a result of the automation of the fire systems, the fire operators or the fire and rescue manager tends to be de-skilled in precisely those activities that justify their existence. Their job reduces to that one of monitoring the automatic systems and ensuring their proper functionality. It is common sense to note that under these conditions; even highly motivated operators cannot maintain effective vigilance for anything more than quite short periods; thus they are demonstrably not fit to conduct this residual function of monitoring rare, abnormal events. The manual control of automated systems is a highly skilled activity and hence where it is the responsibility of the fire and rescue operator to take charge when the automatic system fails or can not be controlled, the skills required need to be practiced constantly in order to maintain them. On the contrary, if the automatic system fails on rare occasions, the operator is denied the opportunity to practice these fundamental control skills. People sometimes are weak at the type of motivation that is needed sometimes in emergencies. This is due to the fact that when operating a machine while being stressed, one tends to follow a pattern of pre-programmed responses. But these are shaped by personal history and tend to reflect patterns of past experience. Learning from one’s mistakes could be profitable but when a whole factory is brought down by fire because of one individual’s mistakes, such experience can be very costly both to the person, and the people involved as well as to the organization (Moore & Lakha, 2006 p. 325). In our case here, there was a signal failure initially, where the fire and rescue manager had been called to inspect what could be wrong or if there was a sign of fire. After the inspection, the fire and rescue manager could not trace any signs of fire and assured the factory manager that all was well as fire is concerned. Moments later, the fire and rescue manager is called informing him of fire in the factory. We note that the fire could have been put down were it not for the lack of enough water at the location where fire broke and lack of sophisticated equipments for handling the situation. One thing is clear here that there was a culture of bad practice in the factory sine the fire and rescue manager as well as the factory manager was not compliant with the workplace and health regulations. They both failed to monitor the reliance of the equipments they had in place or even buy better ones for special operations like the one that occurred. The accident and its cause showed that bad workmanship, poor supervision and poor management combined to undermine the commitment. Thus a working environment ought to be created to such a standard that human errors become less likely (Moore & Lakha, 2006 p. 326). Legal issues when firing In our case here, it is a fire and rescue manager who has been dismissed barely one day after fire bring down the factory. This means that it is most likely that the manager had an employment contract and thus limiting the ability to fire him. If the factory had a forma written contract with the fire and rescue manager, the firing should have followed the reasons listed in it that can cause him to be fired. It is important for the factory manager to have waited for investigations to be carried out and then follow what the contract says. Most contracts state that an employee can only be fired for good reasons. But firing so suddenly after such an incident occurs, it would not be of much help because there is not a good reason or even evident for doing that. No matter what your reasons are, it is important to consider all angles before you take an action (DelPo & Guerin, 2009, p. 392). Remember, firing is the one decision you will make as a manager that is most likely to land you company in court. Stay out of legal trouble by making sure you give the worker a fair shake before showing him the door. There are some certain questions that you as the factory manager should ask yourself before firing: Was there a legitimate reason? Always ensure that you have a good, concrete business-related reason, to fire the worker. Other than firing him because of the fire, could there be other reasons or misconduct in the past. Are there records of negligence in the past so that the disaster can be attributed to his negligence? This implies that his file should be perused to check if the manager had committed other grave mistakes. Could an investigation have been done first? When the incident has already been investigated or the employee admits his or her mistakes, this is not necessary. However, if the situation is not very clear, it is important to figure out what happened. The factory manager should have taken time to investigate, even he had all the reason to blame the fire and rescue manager. There is always the possibility, however small it is that things are not what they appear to be. And the manager could have an explanation for the incident that is not immediately apparent. What does the worker’s personnel file contain? It is always important to go through the worker’s personnel file and check if there is any other good reason for firing the employee. For this case, there was great destruction but this does not call for the fire and rescue manager to be fired if according to his past records, he has been performing his duties well. Was the company policy followed? If the factory has written job regulations or disciplinary policies, it is important to ensure that they have been followed strictly. Was the worker notified that the conduct could result in termination? Did the worker receive any promised warnings and opportunities to improve? It is moreover important to verify if the company policies put any limitations on your right to fire. Is this manager likely to sue? Even though it is hard to predict what the other person will do, you should take some time to consider whether this worker seems likely to go to court. Consider if the manager has in the past threatened to sue, thrown legal terms around with ease, or talked about hiring a lawyer. Does the employee have a history of butting heads with people, like neighbors or previous employers, and running to the court? (DelPo & Guerin, 2009, p. 393). Other than firing, is there another way? Would less extreme discipline be effective? It would be good to give the manager some time to fix things instead of firing immediately if it is likely that the manager will be able and willing to improve. The manager should have considered whether the firing was the most effective option to punish the fire and rescue service manager. If it was not the responsibility of the manager, how will it improve the situation? Is it important to consult a lawyer? Obtaining lawful backing is almost certainly a proper idea if firing would radically alter workplace demographics, the worker has an employment contract that strictly limits your company’s right to fire, the worker is due to vest pension or other benefits soon, or the worker denies the acts for which you are firing (DelPo & Guerin, 2009, p. 394). Policy and procedure To enable the emergency decision makers to cope with disaster effectively the support systems available must be appropriate, adequate and understood. The recognition of an vague occurrence, and the administration of that occurrence, as it forms itself can only be made possible if the resolution-maker has flexible actions, as well as an efficient communication structure, allowing continued assemblage of new information, from first episode outset all the way through to the suppression of that menace. According to the Management of Health and Safety at Work regulations 1999, employers are required to establish and implement procedures to be followed in the event of fire or other serious and imminent danger (Moore & Lakha, 2006 p. 252). In conclusion, when an event like this has occurred, a post-incident analysis will be very important. Valuable information can be attained from a post-incident analysis. Such information is mainly valuable for the training program of a fire department since it highlights areas that require improvement. Some of the input will be valuable in revising departmental policies or procedures. The post-incident analysis should be conducted in a structured, nonthreatening manner that allows for a free exchange of information and honest assessment (Cote, 2003 p. 326). Furthermore, the establishment of a Risk Planning Group (RPG) set up to coordinate the production, implementation and revision of Emergency Procedures, will ensure consistent liaison with the emergency services. The group would also facilitate interaction between departments in the organization to ensure that risks are not missed between procedures. References: Cote, A.E. 2003. Organizing for Fire and Rescue Services. MA, Jones & Bartlett Learning. From http://books.google.com/books?id=M8NZeVI6eZUC&pg=PA325&dq=legal+and+managerial+issues+arising+due+to+fire&hl=en&ei=n4f_TKg1kbiEB4amnboL&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CC8Q6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q&f=false (accessed February 18, 2011) Davies, A. 2011. Workplace Law Handbook 2011 - Health and Safety, Premises and Environment Handbook. Workplace Law Group. From http://books.google.com/books?id=2wWHm_EjwMQC&pg=PA511&dq=rights+of+fire+and+rescue+service+manager+in+case+of+fire&hl=en&ei=BIX_TMj3CcKJhQeUur3tCw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CCoQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q&f=false (accessed February 18, 2011) DelPo, A & Guerin, L. 2009. The Manager's Legal Handbook. California, Nolo. From http://books.google.com/books?id=HPJnLry7ivIC&pg=PA392&dq=legal+and+managerial+issues+arising+due+to+fire&hl=en&ei=n4f_TKg1kbiEB4amnboL&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=7&ved=0CE0Q6AEwBg#v=onepage&q&f=false (accessed February 18, 2011) Moore, T & Lakha, R. 2006. “Tolley's Handbook of Disaster and Emergency Management: Principles and Practice”. Burlington, Butterworth-Heinemann. From http://books.google.com/books?id=uBmrIb_esC&pg=PA137&dq=legal+and+managerial+issues+when+handling+fire+accident&hl=en&ei=vIn_TPnXNYGyhAeSmaXDBg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=9&ved=0CFcQ6AEwCA#v=onepage&q&f=false (accessed February 18, 2011) Read More