The Leading OHS Requirements for Your Business

OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH & SAFETY

By Mark Felton

As a business owner and employer, it is your responsibility to ensure the health safety of your employees within your workplace. This includes providing your team with a safe work environment and protection from hazards. You can achieve this by understanding your obligations under the Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) laws and by complying with them.

Amongst the many OHS legal requirements that business owners must comply with, there are three leading requirements you should have a clear awareness of. Namely:

1. Conducting Risk Assessments

Business owners are required to assess the risks present in their workplace and put control measures in place to eliminate or minimise those risks. By conducting risk assessments, the hazards present can be identified, as well as the likelihood of someone being harmed and how seriously they could be harmed.

2. Providing a Safe Work Environment

Business owners are required to provide and maintain a safe work environment for their employees. This also includes contractors and visitors. This obligation on business owners includes providing adequate lighting, ventilation, flooring, signage, emergency plans, as well as ensuring that plant and equipment is suitable for use and properly maintained.

3. Employee Training & Consultation

As a business owner, it is imperative that you consult with your employees about health and safety matters in the workplace. You must also provide them with adequate training on how to perform their duties safely. Consultation with employees can be achieved in a number of varied ways, including regular toolbox talks, safety meetings and inductions.

As a business owner, do you have an understanding of your responsibility to ensure the safety of your employees? Are you confident that you can provide a safe work environment and comply with OHS laws? Do you believe that you are effective in carrying out risk assessment, employee consultation and providing training? Do you regularly review these measures to ensure that they remain fit for purpose and keep you and your employees healthy and safe? We assist business owners clarify what they currently have in place, as well as where there are shortfalls. We then assist in developing effective systems and documentation, working with businesses to ensure effective implementation.

Checks are put in place to monitor ongoing effectiveness, to ensure that going forward, they are sound and comply with the Act, and most importantly keep business owners and their employees informed, and healthy and safe. Please feel free to contact me, Mark Felton, at Beaumont Advisory on 0411 951 372 or mfelton@beaumontlawyers. com.au for an obligation and cost-free initial discussion.

Mark Felton

Health

Safety