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OHS&W consultancy and training services for regional South Australia
| An OHS&W SOS page!If you are after some general advice and essential information regarding OHS&W, this page may help in answering many Frequently Asked Questions and identify areas or ways Southern OHS Solutions may be able to assist your business needs. Disclaimer: It is important to understand that this information broadly covers typical areas where queries are often raised and whilst every effort is taken to ensure the answers are 100% accurate, they are still solely the opinions of Southern OHS Solutions (see additional disclaimer at bottom of this page) and are generic to a broad range of areas. Definitions of terms commonly used below used below:
Q&A Headings
The Questions and Answers!
The Act requires employers and employees to get together through teamwork and consultation. A work group must first be formed which can be at the request of any employee (to which the employer must respond within 14 days). Work groups are generally formed by agreement between employee(s) and employer and then S.27 of the Act covers the election of a HSR to represent a work group. For organisations that have only a small number of employees (eg: less than 20) the rules are a little more flexible because managers can generally liaise directly with every employee. - SOS can assist organisations form structured work groups and provide practical guidance and advice to both employers and employees to facilitate cooperation between both parties. Once work groups are formed, SOS can provide advice and training on how to conduct proper election processes to ensure they meet legal requirements.
This pretty much follows the answer as provided above regarding HSRs, except it is covered in S.31 of the Act. A committee is not necessarily needed until one has been requested from a group of [at least five] employees, a majority of employees or a HSR. The employer must respond to this request which generally means establishing at least one health and safety committee within two months. There are rules for the make up of the committee (eg: more employee members than managers) which are outlined in the Regulations. Legally, the committee must also meet at least once every three months or at other times which are set out in the Act and Regulations although it is recommended more frequent meetings are held (eg: monthly). A quorum of half the membership must also attend the meeting for it to be effective and recognised as a proper committee meeting. Committees are established to oversee strategic or big picture issues for the organisation, they are not there to cover smaller issues that should be dealt by managers. Committees are most effective if the membership contains people with experience and "clout", not just HSRs and a couple of token managers. For small organisations that have only a small number of employees (less than 20) S.31 does not apply. - SOS can assist organisations establish OHS&W committees and provide practical guidance and advice to both employers and employees to facilitate cooperation between both parties. Our expertise can help with determining priorities for the Committee and how often it should meet as well as coaching for effective meetings.
Absolutely! OHS&W legislation places a duty on employers to ensure that both staff and managers/supervisors [S.19(3)] receive appropriate and adequate information, instruction and training that's necessary to ensure employees are safe from injury and risks to health. Remember, managers and supervisors are employees of the organisation too! - SOS provides a range of OHS&W training services including awareness and OHS&W essentials for managers/supervisors. Click on the OHS&W training link above to access training services..
Yes. The Workcover Corporation produced the "Workplace Health and Safety Handbook" which was revised in 2006 by Safework SA. It is an excellent publication of over 130 pages providing general OHS&W information for all workplaces. While it is primarily aimed toward Health and Safety Representatives (HSR) or an OHS&W Coordinator, it is still highly useful and recommended reading for all staffing levels within an organisation. It doubles up as a useful compendium that you can refer to at any time. A .pdf version is available for free download from Safework SA's internet site and a free hard copy is generally issued to first time elected HSRs on notification of their election to Safework SA. - SOS provides advice on all OHS&W matters and can expand on any of the information provided in the handbook through a massive range of consultancy and/or training services.
Believe it or not we all automatically conduct risk assessments in our daily lives. A simple example is crossing a busy road - we know we cannot simply just stroll across, we have to look both ways and assess an appropriate time to cross, or we could get hit by a car and ... well you know the rest! In much the same way every business must assess the level of risk whenever it identifies a hazard in the workplace. In most cases this needs to be a formalised process (especially with regard to plant and hazardous substances) clearly documenting the risks and setting out an action plan to eliminate/minimise those risks. As most workplaces will have a number of hazards then it is appropriate to prioritise them according to the level of risk they pose and address them on that basis. While this responsibility falls upon the employer, it is a good idea to get the employees involved because they will have frontline knowledge of hazards and risks in any work they do. - SOS provides a risk assessment training and consultancy service that will provide assistance in documentation of hazards and prioritising them depending on their level of risk. SOS can also develop customised risk assessment tools for the organisation to use.
Under OHS&W legislation [S.4(2)] the definition of an employee also broadly encompasses volunteers (they may not get paid but they are usually working under a contract of service), so the short answer is that as far as health and safety is concerned, you must treat volunteers as any other employee in your organisation. This means that they must be provided with adequate instruction and training, just like any paid employee. - SOS provides a range of training and consultancy services and can help with inducting volunteers and ensuring appropriate obligations are met, including assisting with logistics in getting volunteers to attend training.
Yes. This is mainly covered in Division 2.11 of the Regulations which cites an approved code of practice (which is currently being updated in 2009) that provides further practical guidelines for employers. It is a broad area beyond the scope of this FAQ page which ultimately depends on the type of workplace you have (eg: Hospitals and Aged Care facilities obviously already have facilities in place for their employees so will not need first aid kits everywhere). It is also part of an employer's duty of care under S.19(1)(b) which discusses provision of facilities for the welfare of employees. - SOS can provide interpretation and practical advice on implementing the code of practice into your workplace, including the development of any policy/procedure.
The OHS&W Act sets out the range of powers that inspectors have access to and in some cases it could be considered that they have more powers than police (eg: they don't need a warrant to enter your premises). They can inspect a workplace at any time and can arrive unannounced, informing management that they are to inspect something (eg: an issue reported to them, or the workplace in general). There are certain things that must be done (eg: informing the HSR of the work area to be inspected) and you should always ask to see identification and ask any questions of them that you need to in order to comply with their request. During their inspection, if they notice an OHS&W breach they have the power to issue an improvement notice or a prohibition notice (clarified below). They also have the power to initiate legal proceedings against a breach or issue an expiation notice to any person which effectively could be considered as a $315 on the spot fine. - SOS can provide quality advice and consultancy services to help with the process of dealing with an Inspector. We can coach your staff into knowing the do's and don'ts when an inspector calls. We can assist in getting your OHS management systems up to scratch to demonstrate compliance and intending to comply should an Inspector call on you.
They are notices written out by Safework SA inspectors that set out instructions (usually related to a work practice or item of plant) that need to be followed in order for it to comply with OHS&W legislation. Sometimes a $315 expiation notice may accompany it. The type of notice depends on the seriousness of the OHS&W breach or level of risk the equipment or work process poses to employees. If it is significant or very serious, a prohibition notice might be used which instructs the person to discontinue work or a work process or stop using a piece of plant/equipment. This means that the employer must cease all work activities directly related to the notice or OHS&W breach and cannot recommence those activities until the notice has been fully complied with and the danger removed. A lesser risk may involve an improvement notice which means that an alteration or modification must be made to the work process or item of plant/equipment in order to improve the safety of the work area. Employers are required to respond to the request within 5 working days and may face heavy fines, including expiation notices, or probable prosecution if they ignore the notice.
This is not a straight forward answer as it largely depends on the workplace and the type of hazards associated with the work. For instance it can be the employer's policy that appropriate clothing and footwear is worn to protect from spills but this is not something that the employer generally has to provide. If there is a need for the use of additional PPE in the workplace or clothing that is specific to the job, then yes the legislation places responsibility on the employer to manage the workplace hazard, which effectively means they are obliged to provide PPE and ensure it is also appropriate and is used. PPE is also not the first thing that should be used to control a workplace risk - there is a hierarchy of control measures which should be followed before employees should be donning PPE to minimise a health and safety risk. - SOS can undertake risk assessments and firstly assist in determining whether PPE is required and secondly what sort of PPE should be purchased. SOS provides training on hazard controls and the hierarchy of control measures to enable you to know whether PPE is appropriate or another control measure should be considered first.
A number of responsibilities are placed on employers under OHS&W legislation ranging from providing appropriate and sufficient training, safe work practices, safe management of systems, unobstructed egress for all persons, plant and substances, policies and procedures to the overarching provision of a safe working environment for all persons in the workplace. The best way to meet these responsibilities is by putting in place an overall management system that meets the objectives of OHS&W legislation and identifies deficiencies. It is a significant task but is compulsory for all businesses. Organising internal audits and surveys to be undertaken will assist in identifying areas that need to be improved. - Meeting all of the responsibilities under OHS&W legislation can be quite overwhelming for any business which is why SOS and similar firms exist. Our primary objective is to guide and assist you in meeting your obligations and improving compliance with the legislation as well as helping improve the safety culture within your organisation. Our range of services can assist in almost any aspect of meeting your responsibilities and may be far cheaper than employing a full time consultant within the organisation, paying of fines for breaches of legislation or of course the huge costs (many indirect!) associated with just one workplace injury!
Apart from any common sense reporting (eg: calling for an ambulance if there is a serious injury), any serious incident, accident or near miss that falls under the definition in Division 6.6 of the Regulations as being immediately notifiable must be reported to Safework SA by telephone on 1800 777 209 (24 hours). The Safework SA internet site under "reporting accidents and incidents" in the OHS pull-down menu has more information and examples about what has to be notified immediately. If in doubt contact Safework SA or err on the side of caution by calling them as penalties may be imposed.
Any further questions?Please remember that we are a fee for service business. However, we are more than happy to clarify any of the above (eg: source data). If you need an answer to a specific query give Safework SA a call. Please contact us about one of the services we can assist you with.
Disclaimer: This FAQ page is published for information purposes and contains items of opinion. Every effort has been taken to ensure it is accurate and current as at the last modified date below. It should not be relied upon as a substitute for individual professional advice. Southern OHS Solutions accepts no responsibility or liability in the use of any information above without seeking further professional advice. |
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