Kitchens 'a pain for caterers'

Unison called for kitchens to be re-designed

Poorly-designed kitchens are leaving catering staff with crippling aches and pains, a study suggests.

Researchers from Sheffield University surveyed 100 kitchen workers. Almost half said they had experienced pain in the last week.

Three out of four said they had suffered significant pain in the past 12 months and 50% needed medical help.

The trade union Unison, which commissioned the survey, called for restaurant kitchens to be re-designed.

The study suggested that repetitive movements, such as bending, twisting and working in awkward positions, led to pains in the shoulders, lower back, knees, wrists and ankles.

Better layout

Unison said better layout and safer working methods would help to protect workers.

"Living with pain should not be an option, especially when employers could take action to prevent it," said Hope Daley, its senior national health and safety officer.

Living with pain should not be an option Hope Daley, Unison

"We need proper risk assessments to monitor where the real danger areas are and immediate action where solutions have already been identified."

She added: "Most kitchen workers are women and they have to adjust themselves to the work surface, instead of the work surfaces adjusting to them.

"Surfaces are designed at a standard height, leaving people who are above or below average working in an awkward posture, particularly when cutting or chopping."

Ms Daley said it should be possible to have work surfaces at different heights which were adjustable to reduce the risk of injury.

"Employers have a legal duty to protect their workers from injury, so dealing with wet floors or an environment that is uncomfortably hot or cold, should be a priority.

"It's not rocket science and it would help to turn kitchens into pain-free zones," she added.

According to the UK charity Back Care, back pain costs the economy around £5bn each year.

It says two out of three adults have experienced back pain at some point in their lives. Some 2.5m people continue to suffer back pain every day.