It’s amazing what goes under the umbrella of health and safety

Health and Safety Executive’s latest myth challenge.

Case 370 - Child booster seat unavailable at cinema

Issue

At a recent cinema visit, the enquirer asked for a child booster seat but was told that these were not available due to 'health & safety' reasons.

Panel opinion

This cinema chain usually supplies child booster seats but was in the process of changing out old ones for a new design and did not have any available on this occasion. Instead of explaining this, the assistant resorted incorrectly to a "health and safety" excuse. The company has acknowledged the poor handling and taken steps to avoid this happening again.