Bike storage at work... who's liable for damage?

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Gravity Aided

Legendary Member
Location
Land of Lincoln
How often would you replace a 'hack bike" before you realised that the amount being spent was more than the price for one bike.

Using your watch analogy as an example. I bought a £40 watch for everyday wear, including work. Which was wide and varied manual work.

There's a saying about buy cheap, buy twice.
I might recommend the inexpensive Casio.W218H. Mine was less than $20, and keeps time to an anorak level of accuracy. Last a good long while.
 
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classic33

Leg End Member
I might recommend the inexpensive Casio. Mine was less than $20, and keeps time to an anorak level of accuracy. Last a good long while.
I bought a Casio. Main requirement was it needed to be a waterproof watch.
 

srw

It's a bit more complicated than that...
my bike is a 90's orange P7, cost around £700 new. Todays price for that model is upwards of £1500. If i were to put a claim in, it'd be for a new bike, not a 2nd hand one.
"Please evidence that we were negligent - without negligence on our part we are not liable for any damage to your property. If you can demonstrate to our insurer's satisfaction that we were negligent then you will be eligible for compensation to the value of damage done to your property - a bike which is now 20 years old."

You're at liberty to try, but I don't rate your chances of success very highly.
 

srw

It's a bit more complicated than that...
In all scenarios an insurer of a person causing such damage is liable to be, erm, liable.
Erm. No.

https://www.abi.org.uk/products-and...rance/business-insurance/liability-insurance/

As the old ads had it - "Where there's blame, there's a claim"

If it's a genuine accident, there's no liability, and no claim.
If it's negligence* on the part of the employer, there's a claim, but for the value of the property damaged, not any more.
If it's a deliberate act by a different employee without negligence on the part of the employer, there's a claim, but on the different employee, not on the employer - and for the value of the property damaged, not more.

*"A failure to take proper (or reasonable) care in doing something, resulting in damage or injury to you or someone else." says the ABI.

Anyone who's concerned that their property might be damaged, lost or stolen in circumstances where there is no negligence, or where the cost of replacement is higher than the cost of the item, might want to consider getting their own property insurance.
 
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SkipdiverJohn

Deplorable Brexiteer
Location
London
And it seems that all insurance problems and chancery cases could be resolved, in advance, by simply letting the bicycles remain where they were.

Not quite so simple if the previous storage blocked safe access to something else. The Fire Brigade especially will get very stroppy indeed if they do a visit and find obstructing objects stored in places where they may need access if called out on an emergency. They aren't going to care about someone's £2k bike being at risk of being bent by a clumsy fork lift driver, but they will care about possibly tripping over said bike in a smoke-filled room with no lights.
The easiest solution for the employer is a simple blanket ban on bicycles being brought into the building, and this is the risk that staff who want to rock the boat are taking.
 

srw

It's a bit more complicated than that...
And it seems that all insurance problems and chancery cases could be resolved, in advance, by simply letting the bicycles remain where they were.
Although since failure to provide a safe working environment is a criminal offence, once it's identified that it's unsafe for a bike to be stored in a boiler room it would be a brave move not to ban them.
 

Gravity Aided

Legendary Member
Location
Land of Lincoln
Few are the buildings I have seen that don't have some place adaptable for the storage of bicycles in a safe manner to both the bicycle and those using the building. You know, I always found good employees to be a great asset, and what you do for them comes back to the business.
 

classic33

Leg End Member
Not quite so simple if the previous storage blocked safe access to something else. The Fire Brigade especially will get very stroppy indeed if they do a visit and find obstructing objects stored in places where they may need access if called out on an emergency. They aren't going to care about someone's £2k bike being at risk of being bent by a clumsy fork lift driver, but they will care about possibly tripping over said bike in a smoke-filled room with no lights.
The easiest solution for the employer is a simple blanket ban on bicycles being brought into the building, and this is the risk that staff who want to rock the boat are taking.
The agreed place has been changed.

Enviromental Health would take a dim view of a canteen/food area being used as storage space. Possibly ordering the closure until such time as the area has been cleaned, to their satisfaction.

To be able to change the agreed storage place, a proper assessment needs to be carried out, with a copy of the results held on file.

A boiler room fire, the fire service wouldn't enter the room until the supply(gas or electric) had been cut. The rooms themselves have to be kept clear of all combustible materials. Any smoke will therefore be coming from the boiler(s).

The person who is "rocking the boat" is the one who has changed the agreed place of storage. Insisting that henceforth storage will be in the warehouse. I'm presumbing that this will have been checked, report made/filed and a copy naade available for all concerned.
 
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