July 14, 2003—Building Service Contractors Association of Australia NSW executive director Ron Jeffs has reminded members that, the onus is still on the contractor to prove they have met their duty of care. He noted that in order to discharge a duty of care and possibly limit or remove liability in slip and fall cases, the contractor must provide evidence of actual implementation and carrying out of a reasonable system of inspection and cleaning. The contract with a property client, such as a shopping centre owner, should provide for such a system.
Jeffs emphasises that where the contract does not specify reasonable systems of inspection and cleaning, and the cycle is greater than 15 to 20 minutes, the contractor must write to clients advising them of the need to increase cleaning hours. Failure to draw your clients attention to this potential risk could be held against you, he stated.
—Based on a report from InClean.
