Workplace Hazards: What you need to know and do
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction
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Identifying Your Risks
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Assessing Your Risks
3
Other Obligations
4
What If I Don’t Comply?
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Next Steps
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Get the Help From Us
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INTRODUCTION
If you are operating a business, then you have a legal obligation to provide and maintain a safe and healthy workplace. This applies not just to your employees, but to anyone who may be affected by the conduct of your business, for example, visitors, customers or people who may share your place of work. You will also need to give special consideration to vulnerable workers such as young employees who may not have the experience to recognise risks. Your obligations may apply even if your employees are working overseas. Managing work place health and safety is not only a legal obligation, but makes good business sense. By doing so, you will avoid accidents, illnesses, lower your costs, increase productivity, build employee loyalty and your reputation. Failure to comply with your legal obligations can have serious consequences.
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IDENTIFYING YOUR RISKS Part of your responsibility to manage the health and safety risks in your workplace is to have a systematic and ongoing way to identify what those risks are. A risk is anything that may be harmful to a person and can include psychological risks as well as physical ones. Physical risks in the work environment tend to arise from the: • • • •
environment itself; equipment, substances and materials used; work tasks and how they are performed; and management of work tasks.
You will be able to identify some risks simply by regularly walking through your workplace and observing anything you think could go wrong and hurt somebody. You should also ask your employees for their input as to the risks inherent in their jobs. Their input is a valuable way of finding out possible long term risks that might not be obvious, for example, the risk of fatigue related accidents in shift workers. Another way to identify risks in relation to any equipment that you use is to review the manufacturers' warnings and comply with any recommendations. Certain industries, such as the manufacture of hazardous chemicals, have specific and well understood risks which, for this reason, may be relatively easy to identify. However, some risks, such as psychological, or specific risks related to vulnerable people, may not be so easy to identify. In that case, you may need to get outside assistance of a suitably qualified person to help you identify the risks relevant to your workplace.
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ASSESSING YOUR RISKS
Once you have identified the health and safety risks in your workplace, you need to assess how you can control them. The law requires you, as far as reasonably practicable, to eliminate (preferably by prevention) or minimise all the risks identified. There are laws setting out how certain types of risks must be managed. If any of the risks you have identified in your workplace have laws applicable to them, then you must comply with the legal requirement relevant to that risk. Many industries have guidance or codes of practice that set out how certain types of health and safety risks should be managed. You risk breaching your legal obligations if you do not comply with industry standards as set out in those codes. In addition, Safe Work Australia and Comcare, in consultation with many other organisations, have developed a number of codes of practice relating to specific industries. These codes have been approved by the Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills, Jobs and Workplace Relations under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 and have the force of law. While the law does not require you to eliminate a risk if the cost to do so is out of proportion to the risk, the legal standard is to try to eliminate all risks as far as reasonably practicable. 3
OTHER OBLIGATIONS There are other obligations in relation to controlling your workplace health and safety risks, which include prevention through certain measures including information, training and monitoring the health of those affected. Your legal obligations also cover the way you respond to accidents that occur in your work place including reporting those incidents to the relevant authority.
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WHAT IF I DON’T COMPLY
If you don't comply with your obligations relating to work place health and safety, you could be putting your workers' health and even their lives at risk. The law may hold you personally responsible and you may risk fines and even imprisonment. Although you can delegate some part of your obligations to a suitably qualified person, the law still considers you legally responsible for the work done by that person in relation to assessing and controlling work place health and safety risks. You cannot contract out of your work place health and safety obligations in your employment contracts; the law will hold this aspect of the contract void.
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NEXT STEPS The best way to make sure that you don't fall foul of the law is to have a genuine commitment to the health and safety of your employees and the people who are affected by your business. You will show your commitment by: • • • •
familiarising yourself with your legal obligations; familiarising yourself with any guidance and codes of practice that are relevant to your industry; getting help when you need it; and developing and implementing a practical plan to address your obligations.
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GET THE HELP FROM US
Owen Hodge commenced providing legal services to the St George and Sutherland communities in 1951. Since then the firm has grown considerably, developing a reputation for quality legal services, value for money and a strong commitment. Today, Owen Hodge Lawyers provide expert legal services to a diverse range of individual and commercial clients across the Sydney metropolitan and surrounding areas with offices in Sydney and Hurstville. We work to ensure that an experience with our firm is as positive as possible. Our objective is to be a leader amongst our peers by offering: • • • •
Expertise in services offered and superior service delivery Constant improvement of human resource policies and practices Constant technology improvement and development Convenient office locations
We have a team of experienced employment lawyers who have have considerable knowledge and experience in advising workplace hazards in your workplace. If you would like to speak to one of our employment law experts, please contact us today at 1800 770 780 or contact us via email at ohl@owenhodge.com.au. We are client focused and believe in obtaining the best possible outcome at minimum cost.
www.owenhodge.com.au
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INDIVIDUAL AND COMMERCIAL LAW SPECIALISTS Enhancing the lives of our clients by providing for their financial and legal requirements in the acquisition of wealth, protection and management of assets and the transfer of wealth throughout generations. CALL 1800 770 780 VIEW www.owenhodge.com.au VISIT Sydney Office Level 3, 171 Clarence Street, Sydney NSW 2000 Hurstville Office Level 2, 12-14 Ormonde Parade, Hurstville nsw 2220