Andrew, there are quite a few comments in your note that seem to be of concern. Is this a 'height-ist ' set up?? I have never heard anything as mad as some of the things you are reporting - I am sorry if this sounds blase but I think maybe the scene has perhaps not been set right? What does the person do on the home visits? I do agree that he should not 'bend' to the lowest drawer in the cabinet, he should keep his back straight and use his knees to get down ( or did his knee problems prevent this). What is classed as 'suffered a back problem' because simple mechanical low back pain is not considered a "sign of something wrong". Perhaps a look at The Back Book (ISBN 0-11-322312-9) would be helpful. Why a six foot 3 inch tall man should be so restricted simply because of his height is quite beyond me. Perhaps all short people and all tall people should be excluded from the employment market to prevent these difficulties? Maybe he should have all of his vertebrae fused so that he can never bend, stoop or slouch??? Its a shame because the principle of the support group sounds good but everything else sounds a bit worrying to me. Sorry if I have misunderstood anything and I am not NHS but work in industry so maybe I am barking up the wrong averagely sized tree. All a bit odd to me. The OH team member would be blameworthy if a) they were not competent to carry out the assessment and b)they failed to carry out an adequate risk assessment - but the management carry the overall liability. Maybe they should seek some further expert advice? I don't believe that any OH professional would do a risk assessment and conclude that they couldn't offer any help. They may conclude that the person was at risk but reasonable adjustments could not be made and then pass their report to management who will make the decision on how best to manage. Any help to you? Jane. _________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com.