I just shake my head at this stuff...

[IslandHopper]

Bureaucracy gone mad....

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[Lagoon4us]

Thank god there are good people in this world who are capable of making a correct decision, in this instance save a life.

Wonder the ramifications if he turned and said "Sorry i must only rescue persons in my dedicated area" AAAHHHGGGGGGG!!!!!!!

[IslandHopper]

Originally Posted by Lagoon4us

Wonder the ramifications if he turned and said "Sorry i must only rescue persons in my dedicated area" AAAHHHGGGGGGG!!!!!!!

I don't know about the ramifications, but living with the guilt if the individual died would be impossible for me......

[Lagoon4us]

It would be a given that you wouldn't ignore a person in distress.

And you can bet the companies response would then be "Well whilst our policy is to only patrol a set area it's always up to the individual lifeguard to make his own decision",,, A pox on them!

Interesting it's contractor provided?

[JayCall]

A ridiculous result! But not so much bureaucracy as the cost of moving traditionally government provided services to the provate sector. As to the company's position that they might have liability issues, as an attorney, I can safely say that they would really have liability issues if their employee had refused to respond as he did.

[Coops]

So, is it actually bureaucracy gone mad or one Company's interpretation of it? Either way, yes it is bloody stupid and well done to the lifesaver who did what he is paid to do, and his ethics are admirable. Hope he gets a better job for a better employer.

Coops.

[IslandHopper]

You can argue the semantics of bureaucracy until the bloody cows come home, but the fact is this sort of bureaucratic ass-covering attitude is creeping into all facets of society, even in my own workplace it's becoming a problem.....

Bureaucrat = An official who is rigidly devoted to the details of administrative procedure.

[Cherp]

There are two moral issues here. The obvious one and then paying somebody eight dollars an hour.

[Coops]

Correct there Island Hopper. They put these posters up where i work part time, explaining how and what you can lift, and also what you cannot. Then they tell you to ignore them and do as they ask. If anything happened they would just point to the posters and say that "he went against the guidelines"

Coops.

[carstenb]

My two cents-

I hope some other company hires this guy with the motivation that they want employees who are capable of acting independently and morally. Had I a company in that part of the world - I would.

Secondly - Were I a politician that had hired this contractor company - I would fire them.

Immediately

[David_Old_Jersey]

To be fair to the company they are in a damned if they do, damned if they don't situation........it's only a company - it doesn't get to write the rules / laws of the society it operates in......that'll be "you" guys.

[Mr B]

If people need saving, you save them, whether you are paid to or not,

Could you imagine the arsehole that sacked the lifesaver being in trouble, and the life saver said no,
I am not allowed to save you, and they are your rules, and it is out on my area,

[carstenb]

What would you say to a fellow boater who passed you by when you were in deep sh*t with the comment "sorry, I'm not paid to save boaters on this side of the harbor"?

While the company may have issues with this - firing the guy is not the right way to tackle this

sorry - but this company's policies suck

[IslandHopper]

Originally Posted by David_Old_Jersey

To be fair to the company they are in a damned if they do, damned if they don't situation........it's only a company - it doesn't get to write the rules / laws of the society it operates in......that'll be "you" guys.

Do you think this incident will help promote the professionalism of this company to future clients....?? or do you think they may have missed a golden opportunity to show that when duty calls it will be life before litigation...??

Personally i think they have made an absolute balls up of a buisiness decision, i wouldn't be surprised to find out they are chasing a good PR company to wipe the crap of their face as we speak.

I have been watching the news of this here in Australia, and to say the comments re the incident (and the company) are damming is putting it lightly....

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by David_Old_Jersey

To be fair to the company they are in a damned if they do, damned if they don't situation ...

I agree that he (lifeguard) made the right choice, but it was fraught with danger.
Consider the situation were someone to die, within his patrol area, while he was absent rescuing someone in the unprotected area.