Slippery business
FOURWAYS – Entrepreneurs learn more about the do's and don't of running a business.
Running your own business can be a slippery slope, so be sure you don’t fall into any problems.
At the Fourways Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s (FCCI) networking with a difference event on 5 November, business owners learned a bit about their liability when it comes to customers who slip and fall on business premises. The event was hosted at Hirsch’s Fourways, and a presentation on the subject was given by Dewald Goosen and Gaynor Gillespie who together own Safe Surfaces (Pty) Ltd. The company treats surfaces (either with chemicals or with special anti-slip tape) to make them safer.
“Today we’re really talking about slip-and-fall prevention, which is, unfortunately, something that a lot of business owners don’t think about until something has already happened,” Gillespie told the Fourways Review.
“We’re also discussing business liability in these sorts of incidents and showing the audience how our products work.”
The pair gave a PowerPoint presentation providing information on how common these types of injuries occur (in the United States, eight million emergency visits a year happen because of a fall), what industries need to be particularly aware of about this kind of injury (slip-and-fall accidents are the most frequent accidents to occur in the hospitality industry) and where accidents are most likely to occur (bathtubs and showers, stairways and ramps are particularly dangerous).
“If someone slips and falls on your property due to their own negligence you may not be held liable,” Gillespie explained.
“However, if someone slips and falls on your property due to a dangerous condition you were aware of but didn’t fix, you will be held liable.”
Besides slip-proofing your premises, she also had some other advice on how businesses can prevent these kinds of accidents.
“You can prevent accidents by cleaning up spills right away, by using ‘caution’ signs to let customers know when surfaces are slippery due to wetness, by wearing the correct shoes and by maintaining your floors so that there are no broken tiles etc for people to trip over.”
Attendees were left with a lot to think about after the presentation, and spent the time afterwards networking with others who were in the audience.
Besides business owners, also present on the day was Sakhane Gazo, a director with the Lanseria Chamber of Commerce and Industry, “We and the FCCI fall under the same umbrella of the Randburg Chamber of Commerce, and try to do the same work as we are passionate about growing business,” he said. “We do similar events in our area as well.”
The next networking with a difference event will be held on 3 December and will focus on legal advice for business owners and industrial law.
Details: To find out more about the FCCI, contact Richard Lyon on www.fcci.org.za; 086 101 9218.
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