 Quick Guide on Health & Safety
Below is a summary of some key points from the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992
For more information refer to A to Z of employing:
The legal framework relating to health and safety in the workplace includes:
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the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992 (HASE); (must comply with)
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the Health and Safety Amendment Act 2002 and Health and Safety in Employment Regulations.(must comply with)
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codes of practice (applied by the courts as good practice)
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Standards OSH Guidelines Industry publications, and best practice documents Manufacturers' information, MSDSs, manuals, etc.
May be accepted by the courts as evidence of good practice
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Other Statutes (must comply with)
What is the purpose of the HASE Act ?
The purpose of the Act is to promote the prevention of harm to all people at work and other people in the vicinity of a place of work by:
a) Promoting excellence in health and safety management especially through promoting systematic management of health and safety
b) Defining harm and hazards in a comprehensive way so that all hazards and harm are covered including harm caused by work related stress and behaviour effected by mental or physical fatigue, drugs, alcohol and trauma
c) Imposing various duties on people who are responsible for work and those who do the work
d) Setting requirements that practicable steps that are taken are flexible enough to cover different circumstances
e) Recognising that volunteers should have health and safety protection
f) Recognising that successful management of health and safety is best achieved through good faith co-operation in the workplace especially through the input of the people doing the work
g) Providing a range of enforcement methods
h) Prohibiting insurance to cover the cost of fines for failing to comply with the Act.
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Who does the Act apply to ?
all employees and employers including:
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aircraft crew and ship workers
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volunteers
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people doing work experience or on the job training
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loaned employees working for another employer become employees of the borrowing employer for the purposes of the Act
Contractors
Public
The Act is based on
1. Strict Liability and
2. All practicable steps being taken
What are the general duties and responsibilities of Employers under the Act ?
Ensure employees safety (section 6)
Employers have a general duty to take all practicable steps to ensure the safety of employees while at work. In particular employers must take all practicable steps:
- To provide and maintain for employees a safe working environment; and
- to provide and maintain facilities for employees for their health and safety
- To ensure that plant used by any employee at work is arranged, designed, made and maintained in a safe manner
- To ensure that employees are not exposed to hazards arising out of the arrangement, disposal, manipulation, organisation, processing, storage, transport, working or use of things in or near their place of work which the employer has control
- To develop procedures for dealing with emergencies that may arise while employees are at work
In Summary to provide and maintain safe systems of work that is a system that prevents harm to employees.
Have effective methods in place to identify hazards(section 7)
refer to A to Z of employing identifying hazards.
The system must be capable of identifying both existing and new hazards. If possible they should be identified before they arise. Once identified they need to be assessed regularly. Employers must also identify whether the hazard is significant. Employers are responsible for events that actually harm employees as well as those that have the potential to do so.
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Eliminate, isolate or minimise hazards ( sections 8,9 and 10)
Employers are required to take all practicable steps to either eliminate, isolate or minimise hazards.
provide information to employees and health and safety representatives about hazards and what to do in case of an emergency ( section 12)
Employers must give emergency information when employees are working, using plant or dealing with substances. This information should be provided in a form and manner that the employee can understand. The employer will need to give information about hazards to which they may be exposed to and the steps employees must take to minimise the likelihood of hazards harming them. All health and safety information about systems and issues must be accessible to health and safety representatives so they can perform their roles effectively.
Train and supervise employees (section 13)
Employers must ensure that employees are properly trained and supervised when doing the work, using plant or dealing with substances
The person supervising must have the relevant knowledge and experience
the employee doing the work is adequately trained in the safe use of all plant, objects, substances and protective clothing and equipment that the employee is or may be required to use or handle.
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ensure noone else is harmed ( sections 15 and 16)
An employer must take all practicable steps to ensure that an employee's action or inaction at work does not harm to any other person. This includes visitors to the workplace. Visitors must be protected from hazards in areas of the workplace to which they have access. Under section 16 there must always be someone who is in control of a place of work.
ensure that employees are involved in health and safety matters (section 19A)
refer to employee participation system for further
information
record and report accidents and serious harm (section 25)
Employers and principals and self employed persons ( except those working from home ) must keep a register of accidents or injuries to employees, contractors and people in the workplace and report any serious harm injuries to OSH. OSH must be notified as soon as possible. Employers, Self employed prsons and principals must provide written ntoice of serious harm incidents within 7 days on a form prescribed in the Regulations.
not to interfere with an accident scene ( section 26)
If a person is seriously harmed while at work, no person unless authorised to do so by an inspector is to remove or in any way interfere with or disturb any wreckage, article or thing related to the accident, except to the extent necessary -
a) To save the life of, prevent harm to, or relieve the suffering of, any person; or
b) To maintain the access of the general public to an essential service or ultility; or
c) To prevent serious damage to or serious loss of property
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What are the Responsibilities of people who control places of work ?
Section 17
What are the Responsibilities of Principals ?
Section 18
Principals people who engage any person, other than as an employee, to do any work for gain or reward, must take all reasonable steps to ensure that contractors, subcontractors and their employees are not harmed while doing any work ( other than residential work) for the principal. A person can be seen in more than one capacity. Someone can therefore be a principal and an employer, or a contractor/subcontractor and an employer.
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What are the employees responsibilities ?
Section 19
Every employee must take all practicable steps to ensure:
- the employees safety at work including using protective clothing and protective equipment provided by the employer
- that no action or inaction of the employee while at work causes harm to any other person
Section 28A
Employees may refuse to perform work likely to cause serious harm. They must believe this on reasonable grounds. An employee cannot refuse to do work that, because of its nature, inherently or usually carries an understood risk of serious harm, unless the risk has materially increased beyond the understood risk. An employee who refuses to the work on this ground must do any other work within the scope of the employee's employment agreement that the employer reasonably requests. In these situations the health and safety representative, employer and employee must deal with each other in good faith.
These duties on employees however do not detract from the primary responsbility of employers to ensure employees' safety at work.
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What are the responsibilities of persons selling or supplying plant for use in place of work ?
Section 18A
A person who hires, leases, or loans to another person plant that can be used in a place of work must
(a) ascertain from the other person so far as is practicable before hiring, leasing, or loaning the plant
(i) whether the plant is to be used in a place of work; and
(ii) If so, the intended use of the plant; and
(b) take all practicable steps to ensure that the plant is designed and made, and has been maintained, so that it is safe for its intended use.
If the seller or supplier agrees to install the plant all practicable steps must be taken to install or arrange the plant so that it is safe for its intended use.
This does not apply where the plant that is sold, whether or not in trade, is secondhand or sold as is ( ie without any representations or warranties about its quality, durability, or fitness, and with the entire risk to be bourne by the buyer).
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How is the HASE Act enforced and what are the fines for offences under the Act ?
OSH inspectors are responsible for compliance with the Act. They are responsible for ascertaining whether the Act has been, is being and is likely to be complied with. They can issue improvement notices, prohibition notices or infringement notices.
Infringement notices are issued if an OSH inspector on reasonable grounds believes that an offence has been committed. These range from $100-$4000.
Infringement notices are given only after a prior warning has been given. The prior warning can be: a written warning from an Inspector, an improvement notice, a prohibition notice, a conviction for an offence under this Act, a hazard notice, compliance order or infringement notice.
Hazard notices
Hazard notices can only be issued by trained health and safety representatives on an employer. Trained Health and Safety Representatives have completed an approved training course.
A hazard notice can only be issued if:
- A health and safety representative believes on reasonable grounds that there is a hazard in the workplace.
- the hazard has been brought to the attention of the employer.
- the health and safety representative has discussed or attempted to discuss with the employer steps for dealing with the hazard.
- the employer refuses to discuss or to take steps to deal with the hazard or the employer and representative do not agree on the steps that must be taken or the timeframes
Fines for offences
Offences that are likely to cause serious harm - the maximum fine is $500,00 and/ or 2 years imprisonment
other offences carry a maximum fine of $250,000.00
Other People apart from OSH can take prosecution action against the employer such as the union or employee.
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Can you insure against fines ?
No under section 56I any policy or contract of insurance that indemnifies or purports to indemnify a person for the person's liability to pay a fine or an infringement fee has no effect. It is unlawful.
Q: What can I insure against?
A: You can insure against:
. Legal costs in defending a prosecution;
. A sentence of reparation (see below).
Being sentenced to pay reparation means that upon conviction for an offence against the Act, you are required to pay a sum of money to the party who has suffered loss as a result of your actions. Reparations can only be imposed in particular circumstances and is most likely to be common where a person has suffered loss or damage to property.
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Regulations
Regulations are made from time to time under the HSE Act. Regulations may impose duties on employers, employees, designers, manufacturers, and others relating to health and safety.
The Health and Safety in Employment Regulations 1995 apply to all workplaces.
They cover:
- Facilities required for the safety and health of employees;
- Precautions to be taken with some particular hazards;
- Notification of hazardous construction and forestry work;
- Certificates of competence for some kinds of work;
- Young people in places of work; and
- Agricultural workers' accommodation.
reglations on the following particular matters have been made under the Act:
. Pressure equipment, cranes, and passenger ropeways;
. Asbestos;
. Mining;
. Petroleum exploration and extraction; and
. Pipelines.
Factories and Commercial Premises (First Aid) Regulations 1985 describe minimum requirements for first aid training and facilities in places of work.
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Regulations passed on the following subjects were passed under earlier legislation and have been
retained:
. Abrasive blasting;
. Amusement devices;
. Electroplating;
. First aid;
. Geothermal energy;
. Lead processes;
. Noxious substances; and
. Spraycoating.
Some regulations have also been made for administrative purposes. These cover:
. The appointment of inspectors, and forms for accident registers and reports; see The HSE (Prescribed Matters) Regulations 2003 contain forms for the administration of the HSE Act.
. The setting of a levy to fund the administration of the Act.
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Codes of practice
"Approved Codes of Practice" are provided for in the HSE Act. They are statements of preferred work practice or arrangements, and may include procedures which could be taken into account when deciding on the practicable
steps to be taken. Compliance with codes of practice is not mandatory. However, it may be used as evidence of good practice in court.
click here to access the codes of practice from the osh website
Other Statutes
There are however a number of other statutes which also impact on health and safety in the workplace.
These are:
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