Maintaining a safe and healthy workplace is a fundamental requirement for businesses operating in New Zealand. The country has a robust framework designed to protect workers and others from harm arising from work activities. Understanding and adhering to these requirements is crucial not only for legal compliance but also for fostering a productive and ethical work environment.
Employers, or Persons Conducting a Business or Undertaking (PCBUs), have primary responsibility for ensuring the health and safety of their workers and anyone else affected by their work. This involves proactive management of risks and continuous improvement of safety practices.
Health and Safety Laws and Regulatory Framework
The cornerstone of New Zealand's health and safety system is the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 (HSWA). This Act is based on a model work health and safety law and aims to provide a balanced and modern framework for securing the health and safety of workers and workplaces. It places the primary duty of care on PCBUs.
The principal regulator for workplace health and safety in New Zealand is WorkSafe New Zealand. WorkSafe is responsible for enforcing the HSWA and associated regulations, providing guidance, and promoting good health and safety practices.
Key regulations supporting the HSWA include:
| Regulation | Focus |
|---|---|
| Health and Safety at Work (General Risk and Workplace Management) Regulations 2016 | Managing risks, workplace facilities, emergency plans, monitoring. |
| Health and Safety at Work (Worker Engagement, Participation and Representation) Regulations 2016 | Requirements for engaging with workers on health and safety matters. |
| Health and Safety at Work (Hazardous Substances) Regulations 2017 | Managing risks associated with hazardous substances. |
| Health and Safety at Work (Asbestos) Regulations 2016 | Managing risks associated with asbestos. |
Occupational Health and Safety Standards and Practices
Effective health and safety management involves implementing practical measures and fostering a positive safety culture. Key practices include:
- Risk Management: PCBUs must identify foreseeable risks arising from their work, eliminate risks where reasonably practicable, and if not possible, minimise them. This involves assessing the likelihood and potential severity of harm and implementing control measures.
- Worker Engagement and Participation: PCBUs must engage with workers on health and safety matters that affect them. This can involve consulting on risk assessments, control measures, and health and safety procedures.
- Health and Safety Committees and Representatives: Workers have the right to elect health and safety representatives (HSRs). In workplaces with 20 or more workers, workers can request the establishment of a health and safety committee. These bodies play a vital role in monitoring and improving workplace safety.
- Training and Instruction: Workers must receive appropriate training and instruction to perform their work safely. This includes training on specific hazards, control measures, emergency procedures, and the use of equipment.
- Workplace Facilities: Providing adequate and accessible facilities, such as toilets, washing facilities, and rest areas, is a basic requirement.
Workplace Inspection Processes and Requirements
WorkSafe New Zealand inspectors have powers to enter workplaces to monitor compliance with the HSWA. Inspections can be proactive (planned) or reactive (following an incident or complaint).
During an inspection, an inspector may:
- Enter any workplace at any reasonable time.
- Inspect any part of the workplace, plant, substances, or work.
- Take photographs, measurements, or samples.
- Require people to answer questions or produce documents.
- Issue notices (improvement notices, prohibition notices, non-disturbance notices).
PCBUs must cooperate with inspectors and provide access and information as required. Maintaining well-organised health and safety documentation is essential for demonstrating compliance during an inspection.
Workplace Accident Protocols and Reporting
In the event of a workplace accident or incident, specific protocols must be followed, including providing immediate first aid and ensuring the safety of the area. Certain types of incidents must be reported to WorkSafe New Zealand.
Notifiable events include:
- The death of a person.
- A notifiable injury (requiring immediate hospital treatment, or specific serious injuries like amputations, serious head injuries, serious burns, etc.).
- A notifiable illness (e.g., resulting from exposure to a hazardous substance).
- A notifiable incident (an unplanned event that exposes a worker or other person to a serious risk to their health and safety, such as a structural collapse, explosion, or uncontrolled escape of a hazardous substance).
| Action | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Secure the site | Preserve the site of a notifiable event until a WorkSafe inspector arrives or directs otherwise. |
| Notify WorkSafe | Report the notifiable event to WorkSafe as soon as possible after becoming aware of it. |
| Investigate the incident | Conduct an internal investigation to determine the cause and prevent recurrence. |
| Record the incident | Keep records of all incidents, including near misses, even if not notifiable to WorkSafe. |
Employer and Employee Responsibilities for Workplace Safety
Both PCBUs and workers have duties under the HSWA, although the primary duty rests with the PCBU.
PCBU Responsibilities
A PCBU must, so far as is reasonably practicable:
- Ensure the health and safety of workers engaged by the PCBU or whose activities are influenced or directed by the PCBU.
- Ensure the health and safety of other persons is not put at risk from work carried out by the business or undertaking.
- Provide and maintain a work environment that is without risks to health and safety.
- Provide and maintain safe plant and structures.
- Provide and maintain safe systems of work.
- Ensure the safe use, handling, and storage of plant, substances, and structures.
- Provide adequate facilities for the welfare of workers.
- Provide necessary information, training, instruction, or supervision.
- Monitor the health of workers and the conditions at the workplace to prevent illness or injury.
- Engage with workers on health and safety matters.
Worker Responsibilities
Workers also have duties while at work:
- To take reasonable care for their own health and safety.
- To take reasonable care that their acts or omissions do not adversely affect the health and safety of other persons.
- To comply with any reasonable instruction given by the PCBU regarding health and safety.
- To cooperate with any reasonable policy or procedure of the PCBU relating to health or safety.
Documentation Obligations
Maintaining accurate and accessible documentation is a key aspect of demonstrating compliance and managing health and safety effectively. Required documentation may include:
- Risk assessments and control measures.
- Safety procedures and safe work method statements.
- Training records.
- Records of health and safety meetings (e.g., safety committee minutes).
- Incident and accident reports and investigation findings.
- Maintenance records for plant and equipment.
- Monitoring results (e.g., air quality testing).
- Emergency plans.
