Business Communication

OHS Legal and Responsibility

The History of OH&S

Occupational Health and Safety legislation in Australia originated from a 1956 building site, where employees were lifting hot buckets of bitumen (black residue from distillation of petroleum)up to the roof of a five storey building. (go to website for rest of story)
http://www.safetyculture.com.au/news/ohs_history.php

OH&S DEFINITIONS
Following are definitions of terms that we will be using through out this topic It is good for you to become familiar with these terms as they will not only help you with this course but also in the workplace when OH&S issues arise

OH&S Definitions
OHS or OH&S: Occupational Health and Safety Occupation: A job or a profession an exchange of labour or work for money Health: a healthy state of wellbeing, free from disease Safety: The condition of being safe; freedom from danger, risk, or injury Security: the state of being free from danger or injury and freedom from anxiety or fear

OH&S Definitions
Hazard: is the potential to cause harm Risk: a source of danger; a possibility of incurring loss or misfortune

OH&S DEFINITIONS
Accidents: any event that result in personal injury or disease no matter how minor, to any event that results in death. Incidents: any event or occurrence. Eg. Dangerous circumstances arising from non-compliance with OH&S procedures. E.g. Chemical spillage with no body harm.

Accidents
Five different accidents (3.06 mins) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwCyVku1HvI&NR=1 CFMEU workplace safety (1.32 mins) - A poem http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQl2kHwavvU

OH&S Definitions
Corporate: A corporation is a legal entity separate from the persons that form it Liability: Exposure to damage (legal or financial) or the state of being legally obliged and responsible Lawsuit: a legal action by one person or entity against another person or entity

ACTIVITY
You are at work, you see a colleague about to do something dangerous that could seriously injure them. What should you do? Under OH&S Act, what does Duty of Care mean in this situation?

OH&S Definitions
Emergency: A serious situation or occurrence that happens unexpectedly and demands immediate action Negligence: An act or instance of carelessness or neglect; disregard; failure to provide the necessary provisions

OH&S Definitions
Ergonomics is the science of designing the job, equipment, and workplace to fit the worker. Proper ergonomic design is necessary to prevent repetitive strain injuries, which can develop over time and can lead to long-term disability

Ergonomics
Health & Safety workplace Ergonomics (10.13 mins)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kfZzRDHdc8&feature=fvw Stage one Ergonomics (cartoon) 3.16 mins) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KC6nYJ0F6tU&feature=related

STS Workstation Ergonomics (8.03 mins) Good as explains why? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5ZpruQRMAc&feature=related

Identifying Hazards
What are hazards in the workplace? Remember the accident video? They can be anything from grease or water on the floor to not wearing professional safety equipment and many other reasons http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4yj9KK FGng Hazards in the workplace

ACTIVITY
You will be assigned a place (Office, factory, train, kitchen, shop, construction site) With the people around you, in a group discuss and come up with 5 potential hazards that could harm someone, Also, decide on a solution for each hazard Report back to the class

OFFICE

FACTORY

TRAIN

KITCHEN

Hazard Identification Tools

Must be according to Org. Requirements, may include:
Self designed tools developed as part of an OHS management system Tools and templates developed: by external consultancy services by business associations for use by member businesses for public use and found within business management publications, including those published by OHS regulatory authorities

Hazard Record Keeping

It is appropriate to keep a log book or incident report book to record all identified hazards, their risk status and action required Records are usually based on the organisations procedures

Identify Hazards
Methods may include:
Conduct of site safety audits completion of a safety checklist inspections of the workplace observation of daily activities investigation of accidents and incidents review of injury or illness registers Environmental monitoring of the workplace

Identify Hazards cont

Investigation of staff complaints or reports of safety concerns Review of staff feedback via consultative processes, such as meetings, surveys or suggestion box submissions

Hazard Identification (1)

Involve other personnel where appropriate in the hazard identification process Hazards may include:
physical environment e.g. working space for workers Lighting hot and cold environments Fresh air vents

Hazard Identification
Climate, weather exposure, shade protection from rain, sun or wind Exposure to flood, fire and storm Noise levels Electrical items Flooring Pests Crowds Electrical cables Wild animals

Hazard Identification (2)

Plant e.g. Machinery Tools Appliances equipment

Hazard Identification (3)

Working practises e.g. Opening and closing procedures Security procedures Inappropriate rostering and shift allocation Length of time spent at certain task and allocation of breaks

Hazard Identification (4)

Security Issues e.g. Theft and robbery Irrational or angry, drunk or drugaffected customers Bomb scares

References
wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn http://www.answers.com/topic/safety Oxford Compact English Dictionary Commonwealth of Australia 2007 OHS Training Package

Why is OHS important?

Not only common sense to be safe, but also a legal requirement by all employers and employees This includes both Corporate and Personal liability and responsibilities

ARE YOU AT RISK?

IN AUSTRALIA YEARLY: - Workplace injuries occur every 2.4 seconds - 1 in 12 workers are injured seriously enough to lodge workers compensation claims every year (650,000 workers) - Over 2500 work-related deaths annuallycompared to 1,596 road fatalities and 300 homicides. (NOHSC, National Occupational Health & Safety Commission 2003)

WHY WORRY?
WHY WORKPLACE ACCIDENTS CAN DESTROY BUSINESSES Government fines & penalties, Lawsuits & negligence claims, Increased workers compensation premiums

NSW OH&S Act 2000

The laws as made by parliament Written in legal language
For full details please visit the NSW Workcover Authority website: www.workcover.nsw.gov.au

NSW OHS Regulations

NSW OHS Regulations (2001) Made under the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2000 Provide more details than the Act and support its general requirements e.g. Manual handling, Noise, First Aid

Where to find the laws

A summary of the NSW OHS Act
http://www.workcover.nsw.gov.au/formspublications/publications/Pages /WC00100.1_SummaryoftheOccupationalHealthandSafetyA_.aspx

A summary of the NSW OHS Regulations

http://www.workcover.nsw.gov.au/formspublications/publications/Docu ments/reg_summary_ohs_2001_106.pdf

Definitions (1)
Legislation: the act of making or endorsing laws Compliance: is either a state of being in accordance with established guidelines, specifications, or legislation or the process of becoming so i.e. obeying the law

Definitions (2)
Acts: An Act of Parliament is a law enacted as primary legislation by a national or subnational parliament i.e. is the law Regulations: refers to "controlling human or societal behaviour by rules or restrictions." Regulation can take many forms: legal restrictions or an authoritative rule i.e. what you need to do to follow the law

Important Documents
1. The NSW OHS Law
http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nsw/consol_act/ohasa2000273/

2. The NSW OHS Regulations

http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nsw/consol_reg/ohasr2001364/

3. Industry Codes of Practice

http://www.workcover.nsw.gov.au/Pages/default.aspx

4. Workplace policies and procedures (apply to specific workplace)

Codes of Practice
It is a practical guide for achieving the standard of safety required by OH&S legislation for a particular area of work. Are a set of rules outlining the responsibilities of proper practices for an individual or organization. Provide practical advice on how to achieve health and safety Should be followed, unless another solutions are found. Used in conjunction with Acts and Regulations
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tnu9CP-noC8

Codes of Practice
Codes of practice themselves are not legally enforceable, but can be used as evidence in court to show whether or not an employer has satisfied an OHS Act or Regulation or the employers common law duty of care.

Criminal vs Civil Law

Civil Law: the law of a state dealing with the rights of private citizens Criminal Law: the area of law that focuses on crimes and their punishment. The crime can be committed by an individual or a group of people OHS legislation fits under civil and criminal law

Criminal law
Civil law E.g. Contract Dispute Intellectual Property Negligence Accidents Criminal law Eg. Murder guilty mind - means an intention to commit some wrongful act.

NSW OHS Penalties

If you break the OHS laws you can be fined the following: Corporate fines vary from $550k to $1.65m Directors and Managers from $55k to $165k and/or 2 to 5 years imprisonment Supervisors and Employees from $3k to $5k

Employer Responsibilities
An employer must ensure the health, safety and welfare at work of all the employees of the employer.

(a) ensuring that any premises controlled by the employer where the employees work are safe and without risks to health, (b) ensuring that any plant or substance provided for use by the employees at work is safe and without risks to health when properly used, (c) ensuring that systems of work and the working environment of the employees are safe and without risks to health, (d) providing such information, instruction, training and supervision as may be necessary to ensure the employees health and safety at work, (e) providing adequate facilities for the welfare of the employees at work.

Employer Responsibilities
Employers can promote OH&S legislation by encouraging and communicating the message of safety and healthy for forming a OH&S committee. As a committee they can promote OH&S safety, design OH&S policies and procedures, Promote and conduct OH&S training Monitoring safety and conducting regular maintenance checks.

Employee Responsibilities
Follow safety procedures Attend training & apply learning Report potential hazards Use all equipment correctly Wear personal protective equipment Avoid skylarking (to fool around or act strangely)

Follow workplace procedures

Correctly and consistently follow the organisation's health, safety and security procedures according to the relevant legislative requirements. This may involve:
emergency, fire and accident incident and accident reporting

Follow workplace procedures

hazard identification risk control risk assessment security, including
o o o o o documents cash equipment people key control systems

WHY DO YOU NEED SAFE WORK PROCEDURES?

To protect employees from potential risks in the tasks they perform or from the equipment they use to carry out a task. To comply with HO&S regulations (reinforced by law) To establish what is acceptable in the workplace. To prevent rather than cure To protect anyone entering the premises.

Workplace procedures
Eg. Supermarket 1.Opening and closing the cash registry. 2. Acknowledge every customer that walks in and keep and eye on them at all times. 3. Lock the front door at the end of the shift. 4. Turn the surveillance camera on.

References
Definitions: http://www.yourdictionary.com/gallivant http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Define_Act_of_parliament en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regulations wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn http://www.english-test.net/toeic/vocabulary/words/057/toeicdefinitions.php http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parliament_of_Australia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_law_%28common_law%29

Restart Consulting Presentation August 2009 Paul Cutrone (OHS Legal Advisor) of Sparke and Helmore August 2009

OHS Activity
1. List and describe the workplace procedures in an Accounting firm. 2. List and describe the workplace procedures in an IT Department of an organisation.

Revision
Laws, regulations, legislation & Acts Group assessment and presentation Have a good week and see you next week