New Work Health and Safety Laws

Posted by Byron Cannon on October 17, 2011

Safety FirstAre you ready for The New work health and safety laws?

If not...now is time to make sure you are ready, because on the 1 January 2012, the new harmonised national Work Health and Safety laws will commence. The Queensland Act will be known as the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (WHS Act 2011).

Company Officers

Under the new Work Health and Safety Act 2011 Company Officers will have new and increased obligations to ensure their businesses are complying. The definition of ‘officer’ includes:

  • Directors, company secretary, partner, officeholder
  • Those involved in making decisions that affect the whole or a substantial part of the business
  • Those with the capacity to affect significantly the organisation’s financial standing
  • Receivers, administrators, liquidators

Penalties

Under the new laws, officers could be personally liable for up to $600,000 in fines and/or 5 years' imprisonment if they are deemed to have breached their primary duty of care.

The primary duty of care is to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of workers at work in the business. The primary duty is broad and provides for:

  • a work environment without risks to health and safety
  • safe plant and structures
  • safe systems of work
  • safe use, handling, storage and transport of plant, structures and substances
  • adequate facilities for the welfare of workers
  • information, training, instruction or supervision that is necessary to protect persons from risks to health and safety arising from work
  • monitoring of the health of workers and conditions at the workplace.

A self-employed person must also ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, his or her own health and safety while at work.

Act Now

Directors and management of businesses throughout Australia are now in a position to influence the occupational health and safety regime of their organisation.  It is imperative to address this now so that appropriate procedures are in place come 1 January 2012.  It is very important to establish a culture now to ensure safety is taken seriously. Therefore officers will have to exercise a positive duty of care and this will be achieved by conducting on an ongoing basis "due diligence" that will include:

  • gaining an understanding of risks and hazards associated with the operation of their business
  • assessing and  ensuring that there are  appropriate  resources  and processes in place to eliminate or minimise risks
  • timely response to incidents
  • implementation of a process to ensure legal compliance to the WHS Act 2011
  • ensuring that their business complies with its safety obligations
  •  keeping up-to-date with all work health and safety matters;

The clock is ticking and you only have 10 weeks to get your business prepared for the new laws. There will be no grace period after commencement. Therefore I urge you to take the time now to assess your situation, understand your Work Health and Safety obligations which will be dependent on your business and industry and make sure that come January 1 2012 you have a new set of Work Health and Safety processes in place and communicated to your people. 

Please contact me to discuss any questions or queries you may have.

Working Safely From Home

Posted by Byron Cannon on October 05, 2011

I recently read an interesting article in the Financial Review on the hidden costs of working from home. The article by Fiona Carruthers detailed the problems which Telstra faced just recently when it was found liable for physical and psychological injuries sustained by one of its employees who were working from home. Telstra may now face paying hundreds of thousands of dollars in compensation.

This article got me thinking about some of the ways in which businesses could minimize the risk of their employees and subcontractors being injured while working from home. With the introduction of the new Australia wide Workplace Health and Safety Act 2012, which will come into effect on 1 January 2012, issues of safety when working from home will be paramount.

Many business owners want to give their employees the opportunity to work from home. Particularly, with the new trend of having a work-life balance, I have found that there is an increased pressure on business owners to be more flexible in the working conditions they set for their employees. However, it’s equally important for employers to understand that this can come at a very high price, if the right foundations are not set from the very start.

One of the best ways for business owners to protect themselves from liability is to ensure that each individual who is engaged to work from home, signs a Workplace Health and Safety Agreement. This Agreement may form part of the individual’s employment agreement or may be an entirely separate agreement. Either way, it is essential that both the employer and employee are aware of their obligations under what are a very comprehensive set of regulations.

The benefit of having a Workplace Health and Safety Agreement drawn up is that both parties understand their obligations under the law. Procedures may be put in place under the Agreement to ensure that both parties are complying with the relevant procedures and taking appropriate measures to identify and minimize the risk of potential injury. The Agreement can also require that both parties inform each other immediately in the event of a possible breach so that it may be rectified in the most efficient way possible.

Business owners should note that the clauses necessary in a Workplace Health and Safety Agreement differ based on the nature of the relationship between the parties entering into the agreement. For example, if the Agreement is between a principal and contractor, the burden of liability will be far more heavily placed on the contractor than the principal. This is distinct from an Agreement between an employer and employee as the relationship between those two parties at law is very different compared to that of a principal and contractor.

If you have any concerns regarding how the new Workplace Health and Safety laws may affect you or your workplace, please feel free to contact me.