It’s Christmas Eve, and Mrs. Claus is busy baking cookies when she receives unsettling news. The elves haven’t heard from Santa in over an hour. Immediately, this highlighted health and safety concerns for Santa! It’s unlike him not to bellow a cheerful “Ho Ho Ho!” from somewhere in the distance. Concerned about the cold weather outside and knowing Santa was spending time with the reindeer, Mrs. Claus grabs her heavy velvet coat and fluffy hat, then heads to the stables to find him. But when she arrives, he’s nowhere to be found!
After searching for 15 minutes, she finally hears snoring coming from the barn further down the lane. Dominick the Donkey laughs uncontrollably while trying to remember the lyrics to “All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth.”
Standing in the doorway with her hands on her hips, Mrs. Claus clears her throat loudly. Father Christmas stirs from his nap, surrounded by an empty plate of carrots, mince pies, and sherry. Looking more than a little guilty, Santa wakes up to Mrs. Claus’s stern words: “I was really worried about you! Why haven’t you answered your phone? I’ve been looking everywhere for you!”
How Safe is Santa on Christmas Eve – what are the Health and Safety concerns?
As he walks around North Pole City the next day, still reeling from Mrs. Claus’s telling off, Santa begins to consider his personal safety. Health and safety concerns for Santa is always highlighted as his mammoth Christmas Eve journey gets closer. He shudders when he thinks about the immense task ahead, and how he often works alone through much of the night.
Santa eyes his usual pre-safety checklist:
- Reindeer ear and eye protection, plus non-slip hooves for safe landings
- A sleigh airbag to cushion any bumpy landings
- Lights and reflectors to be visible to passing aircraft and to ensure safety during hazardous manoeuvres
- A medical bag to address any unforeseen illnesses or accidents on route
- Extra mince pies, just in case he gets hungry
And every year, his list of safety measures seems to grow longer.
Last year, the elf-and-safety department went into overdrive regarding their health and safety concerns for Santa, by even suggesting replacing the traditional chimney climb with a safer winch system!. This suggestion made Santa roll his eyes. He grumbled, “I’ll lose some weight if I have to,” but deep down, he knew it might be time to accept that this would be the year they’d start making changes. The Christmas candy he snuck when Mrs. Claus wasn’t looking hadn’t helped either. Santa shuddered at the memory of that one Christmas when he couldn’t sit down for a whole month after getting stuck in a chimney.
Santa’s back has also been an issue due to all the heavy lifting. Over the years, the workshop team has provided smaller, more manageable gifts to reduce the strain. But there was that one time he got stuck bending over to pick up a glass of sherry (for medicinal purposes, of course). He kept it quiet adding that to the growing list of things he didn’t want to talk about regarding chimney descents.
And then there’s the stress, time constraints, staffing issues, seasonal illnesses, and the rumour about someone’s mommy kissing him last year. The more Santa thought about it, the more safety concerns seemed to pop up.
But unbeknownst to him, Mrs. Claus had been thinking about these concerns too.
How Can Santa Be Safer on Christmas Eve?
Later that day, as Santa returns to their cosy home, he finds Mrs. Claus knitting by the fire with the warm scent of gingerbread in the air. She notices his worried expression and says, “I have just what you need to stay safe.” Santa, expecting a plate of cookies, extends his hand, but instead, Mrs. Claus places her mobile phone into it. “I did some research, and I found an app that will help keep you safe while you’re working alone. You can check in at regular intervals, and if you don’t, it will remind you!”
Santa interrupts, “But…”
Mrs. Claus cuts him off, “No buts. This app is exactly what you need. If you miss a check-in, it can escalate the situation, and they can track your location. I’ll feel so much better knowing you’re safe!”
“But I don’t always have a data signal…” Santa protests. “It’s a waste of chocolate coins.”
Mrs. Claus smiles. “That’s not a problem, dear. MyTeamSafe switches automatically to SMS fallback mode. Even if you don’t have data, you’ll still be tracked, and the system can escalate your check-ins.”
Is this the end of Santas Health and Safety concerns?
While they sit together, nibbling on freshly baked cookies, they research the app further. Santa is impressed to read that MyTeamSafe allows users to define different check-in strategies for various risks. They can set personalised check-in times, making it a perfect fit for Santa’s busy night. With Santa travelling to different homes, some locations present unique safety concerns (e.g., icy rooftops, high winds, excessive Christmas decorations!) and fatigue hits him hard these days, so anything that helps, can only be a good thing!
Then he started to ponder about his lone working elves and how this App would help with the potential legal implications of not ensuring worker safety in the workshop or the lone / home worker volunteers.
Santa laughs and points at the mobile, “Look, it even has a notes area where I can send updates to my supervisors. I can let them know about sleigh maintenance, or if I come across any mischievous children or tricky pets. In addition to that, they’ll also get to know about any missing chimneys or other hazards ready for next year. No more complaints about my handwriting from the elves!”
“Ho Ho Ho!” Santa bellowed in joy. “I love it! Let’s book a free trial!”
He immediately emails blog@myteamsafe.com and gets set up in time for Christmas Eve and loves the fact he got an extra month free with their special Christmas promotion!
MyTeamSafe® An award-winning lone-worker app and proud supporter of the Suzy Lamplugh Trust. Find out more here, then contact us today to start your FREE trial. Email us at blog@myteamsafe.com