Workplaces urged to prioritise employee safety

In February 2016, Ms Hay sustained a serious injury while working at the Grovedale KFC. It was an injury that could have been avoided had more caution been taken.

Ms Hay was only 15 when she was rushing between the drive thru, front counter and packing area.

The management and senior staff had neglected to tell an inexperienced employee working the same shift as Ms Hay that bags of frozen chips were to be distributed between two fryer baskets to ensure they were not too heavy to lift once cooked.

According to Maurice Blackburn lawyer Simone Ellis, this neglect clashes with the need of employers to ensure their workers’ safety.

“Employers have an obligation to provide adequate training and supervision to all employees to ensure they are not put in dangerous and vulnerable positions.”

However this was not the case, and as Ms Hay attempted to lift a basket that all the chips had been distributed into, she felt a sharp pain in her wrist.

Ms Hay says she immediately knew serious damage had been done.

“As soon as I lifted the basket out of the fryer I heard a big ‘crack’ and felt pain straight away so I knew I’d done something.”

She later found out that she had suffered joint, ligament and tendon damage to her thumb on her dominant hand.

In the following months the injury effected Ms Hay’s ability to take notes at school, and now five surgeries later, it is unlikely she will ever regain the full use of her thumb.

Now 19, the injury still prevents Ms Hay from doing many menial tasks, and therefore limits her job options in the future.

She urges others to prioritise their health and to ask questions when they are uncertain.

“Don’t be pressured into doing things you are not comfortable doing, or rushing to do multiple jobs at one time.

“Young workers should always ask for help and never do anything that goes beyond their training.”