CYA in Action

Dom Joly has come across some silliness while filming his latest project.

What really irritates me, however, is how "healthandsafety" has taken over everything. I wouldn't mind if it was all for "healthandsafety", but it's actually not. It's all about a pathological fear of litigation veiled behind a feigned concern for the visitor's or worker's wellbeing.

I visited a biscuit factory. At reception I was asked to sign in and declare that I hadn't been abroad recently, didn't have typhoid and wasn't an industrial saboteur. I was then taken into a room and shown a long and very dull DVD, warning me about not going down any stairs without holding the handrail and how, if I dropped anything into the biscuit mix, this would make the consumer very unhappy.

The following day I went to look round a place that made posh mobile phones. The moment I arrived I was made to sign a non-disclosure form that presumably was intended to prevent me from telling you things like the fact that I had to sign a non-disclosure form. It was very unclear what it was that they didn't want me to disclose, especially as we were there filming everything for television. Perhaps, if or when you come to view this show, you will get a letter from the company concerned asking you not to discuss what you have just seen.