It is an unfortunate fact that employees occasionally become injured or ill while on the job. Be sure to follow your restaurant's Worker's Compensation and Liability Insurance guidelines whenever an employee does become injured or ill at the workplace. In addition, fill out Employee Injury/Illness Report Forms when injuries or illnesses do occur, unless they are very minor.
For taking care of minor injuries, basic first aid procedures are usually adequate. Basic first aid includes the following practices:
- Using over-the-counter medications at regular strength
- Cleaning, flushing or soaking wounds on the skin surface
- Administering bandages or coverings such as BandAids™, butterfly bandages, elastic bandages or gauze pads
- Using hot or cold therapy
- Draining blisters
- Using eye patches
- Using temporary slings
- Using tweezers to remove splinters
- Drinking fluids to relieve heat stress
It is a good idea to keep a record of all work-related accidents or incidents that occur. According to the Occupational Standards and Health Administration (OSHA), restaurants must record all work-related illnesses as well as all work-related injuries resulting in the following:
- Medical treatment beyond first-aid
- Loss of consciousness
- Inability to perform normal job functions
- Inability to work full-time
- Temporary assignment to another job
- Death
When a serious injury or illness occurs on the job, an owner, manager or other supervisor must immediately take charge:
- Call 911.
- Arrange for transportation to a hospital (ambulance, helicopter, etc).
- When possible, keep everything as it was in case of pending investigation.
- Accompany the injured employee to doctor or hospital, depending on the extent of the injury.
- Notify GM or other top management if not present.
- Have GM or manager notify immediate family or emergency contact person of the incident.
- Keep a record of the injury in restaurant files.
Download a sample Employee Injury/Illness Report Form (pdf)
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