Nestlé, Credit Suisse and Google are the best companies to work for in Switzerland, according to a survey by Sweden's Universum Communications.

Read the full article: Nestlé best employer in Switzerland: survey

I know this is an old post, but what Nestlé's workplace safety record like in Switzerland? The reason I ask is they (or a company they own) have been recently prosecuted for some fairly serious workplace safety violations US (fatality at a plant in MA), UK (fatality or serious injury involving a palleting machine, I forget) and France (fatality or serious injury, I forget) as well...

Workplace safety? What's that?
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Having worked both in the UK and Switzerland I have to say here it is only a vague concept; employees are supposed to look after themselves and are free to leave if they feel unsafe.

This being said I know Nestle well and I can tell you they take safety very very seriously, far more than the Swiss average. Of course here companies are only very rarely prosecuted for safety issue, because the laws are done to protect the interests of the companies (which fund the main political parties except SP/PS and the Greens), but those of the people.

My brother's firm take work place safety very seriously. They even chain the fire extinguisher's to stop them being stolen. i didn't believe him until he sent me this..

How dumb is this..... In case of a fire.

Yes, Nestle does take safety at heart, at least in Switzerland, as they review statistics, and there is a 0 accident approach. I know best the office environment, where the talk is walked - now the factories may be a different affair.
As per quality workplace, yes, it is a good place to work, with a lot of opportunities... if you get them or not, would depend on how politically correct you are willing to be.

Exactly, makes the work place less safe if you can't extinguish a fire!

UK accident http://duncangibbins.co.uk/personal-...ident-factory/

http://wcfcourier.com/news/regional/...3ea51a30c.html

in both the above fatal accidents the Nestlé employees had failed to follow safety procedures. Nestlé was fined, but was the company guilty and responsible?

In this accident in the US at a Nestle subsidiary, some (or several) company officials should have been sent to prison for a couple decades...

http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owad...SES&p_id=22566

These chains are specially made alloys which are stronger than steel but melts like butter when they encounter high heat. Hence they must be a good method to deter thieves.

Wonderful, so now I can access the extinguisher only AFTER it gets hot enough to melt metal? IMHO, I'd be long gone and the place on its way to ashes before I'd try that...

Apologies for my feeble attempt at a sarcastic joke.

Psst..

I found it funny.

Don't tell anyone else though.

I heard from a friend who worked at Nestle that you can't (as in its forbidden) to go up and down stairs without holding on to the rail!

There are a few posters reminding you it's safer to use the handrail when using stairs, that's all. It's caring for your employees.

Well actually that is more or less the norm in most chemical companies...to prevent "industrial accidents"

When I was working in the UK I once had to attend a 'training' on how to safely transport hot beverages around the office

In the UK I had to attend a glass safety course because I worked with a computer screen, and "you have to know what to do if it breaks".

This is standard safety protocol. The risk of falling down the stairs is drastically reduced when holding the railing. Costs involved with lost man-hours due to injury are in-turn reduced.

When I worked at Nestle, an outsider might have found it quite odd, the level of safety and redundant safety rules and implementations, but they are a trivial cost compared to down time.

When us Six-Sigma nerds were reinventing the plant into a 'world class manufacturing facility'. There was a ton of resistance. I remember the 'no-jewelry debate with many refusing to remove wedding rings. One picture of a ring-related injury and there were no more complaints.

Its not just a few posters for the handrail. I was visiting Nestlé recently and told in no uncertain terms to hold on to the handrail whilst going down the stairs.