How Can You Have Amazing Wellness and Be Safe In Life?

Post 6 of the “My Health TODAY! on Mondays” series: How Will The New Workplace Safety Laws Affect Me and My Business Operations?

This one is for those who may have thought I missed them – the workers.

For some workers, this post may come as a shock. Previously I have seen a very implicit “us and them” approach to safety in many organisations. The “it’s up to the boss to make certain the workplace is safe”.

Well, under the new WHS Act, that can no longer be considered true. The WHS Act explicitly makes everyone, no matter at what level they are in the organisation, responsible for the health and safety of themselves and everyone else in and around the workplace.

To give an equivalent penalty scenario as that for Officers, the “Reckless” actions or inactions that did or could have led to serious injury or death, a Worker faces a personal penalty of up to $300,000 and/or 5 years imprisonment. Not many people I know could afford that sort of attention!

So, what are the implications for Workers?

Under the requirements of the WHS Act Workers are required to:

·         Ensure the health and safety of themselves and all others in the workplace in the performance of their duties;

·         Ensure the health and safety of themselves and all others in the workplace by their actions in the workplace;

·         Follow instructions as provided by the PCBU, in so far as they are safe, in the performance of their duties;

·         To follow all directions in the proper use of equipment, systems, safety equipment, safety procedures and emergency protocols;

·         To comply with the WHS Act, Regulations, Codes of Practice, Standards, Guidance Notes, Industry Guidelines, Instructions of Use, Procedures and Policies;

·         To recognise and report all hazards and risks associated with the conduct of their work to the PCBU;

·         To report all near misses and safety/ injury incidents to the PCBU;

·         To consult with the PCBU in the issues relating to workplace health and safety.

Of course, the PCBU must do everything that is reasonably practicable to provide for the safety and health of workers, but workers are equally responsible by what they do and how they do it an in ensuring that all hazards are identified and reported.

Part of reasonably practicable as far as workers are concerned could be:

·         The provision of a safe and healthy workplace;

·         Induction – both company and site/job specific;

·         Safety training and easy-to-access policies and reporting systems;

·         Safety equipment provided and maintained in good order;

·         Consultation between the workers and the PCBU;

·         Proper supervision;

·         Access to employee assistance programmes, such as counselling services;

·         Ergonomic assessments as required; and

·         Support for the reporting of health and safety issues in the workplace.

Under the Act, a worker cannot have action taken against them for reporting any WHS issue to the PCBU. They should be free of harassment and intimidation. They can, if in immediate risk from a hazard, withdraw from that work, report it to the PCBU and either have the risk actioned on so that it is safe to do the work or to be given other duties until it is safe to do that work.

Let’s face it, all work has some form of risk to it. WHS is not just about eliminating all risk from the workplace. If the risks can be eliminated, than that is the best outcome. In most cases however, it is more about reducing the risk of injury, illness or death from doing our work down to an acceptable level so that we can perform our duties with the greatest chance of going home that night to our family and friends.

And just to clarify, “workers” does not only cover the paid workforce. It covers anyone who conducts “work” in the workplace no matter if fulltime, part-time, casual, contract, volunteer, work experience – and that includes management and non-management.

What we do and how we do it is equally important in ensuring we do go home at the end of each day as is having safe equipment, a healthy environment and good safety leadership.

Good health and keep safe out there.

Colin

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