How to make the teaching of health and safety in business interesting and fun? Short of actually setting up some industrial accidents or combining with the chemistry department to create a mini Buncefield Oil Depot simulation, a good option is to use You Tube…

Take the cracking example below of how not to conduct a sales promotion. Whilst a highly satisfied customer waxes lyrical about the product features and benefits of the promoted ladder, disaster is just waiting to strike.

Ladder-related accidents are more common in the workplace than you might imagine. According to the Health & Safety Executive, during 2007/8, 58 workers died and 3,623 suffered a serious injury as a result of a fall from height. Ladders remain the most common agent involved and account for more than a quarter of all reported falls from height incidents.

In attempt to counter these sad statistics, the HSE is leading a “Ladder Exchange” programme, which has the aim of removing as many dodgy ladders from the workplace as possible.