Health and Safety

Transcription

1 Health and Safety

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3 HEALTH AND SAFETY TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 Table of contents Introduction 4 Health and Safety in Employment Act Who is responsible? 5 Employer responsibilities 5 Employee responsibilities 6 Volunteers 6 Role of OSH 8 Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) 9 Smoke-free Environments Act Workplace health and safety systems 11 Employer commitment and policy 11 Hazard identification and management 12 Prioritising hazards 12 Controlling hazards 14 Monitoring hazards 14 Stress in the workplace 14 Occupational Overuse Syndrome 15 Manual handling 15 Workplace health and safety systems summary 16 Accident management 17 Accident management summary 17 Emergency management planning 18 Fire 18 Other emergency procedures 19 First aid 19 Civil defence supplies 20 Emergency management summary 20 Staff training, supervision and participation 21 Information for employees 21 Training or supervision 21 Suitable protective clothing and equipment 21 Staff participation 22 Health and safety representatives 22

4 2 Contractors and visitors 24 Health and safety and events 25 Event risk management process 26 Appendix 29 Appendix 1: Example health and safety programme plan 31 Appendix 2: Sample hazard register 33 Appendix 3: Sample employee health and safety handbook 34 Appendix 4: Event management risk profile template 42 Appendix 5: Sample health and safety manual 43

5 It isn t the mountains ahead to climb that wear you out; it s the pebble in your shoe. Muhammad Ali

6 4 Introduction This toolkit is designed to assist managers to meet their obligations under the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992 (HSE Act), the Health and Safety in Employment Amendment Act 2002 (Amendment Act) and associated legislation. It will also help you to set up new, or review your existing, health and safety policy and procedures. This resource is designed to be read in conjunction with other SPARC publications such as the People Management and Risk Management toolkits.

7 HEALTH AND SAFETY HEALTH AND SAFETY IN EMPLOYMENT ACT Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992 The main Act for the management of health and safety is the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992 (HSE Act). The principal objective of the Act is to provide for the prevention of harm to employees while at work and to other people in the vicinity of a workplace. The HSE Act is supported by regulations, guidelines and codes of practice which control specific health and safety issues. A place of work is defined very broadly as any place (not necessarily part of a building or structure) where any person is to work, is working for the time being, or customarily works for gain or reward. The Act does not tell people how to make the workplace safe; rather, it requires that they have taken all reasonable practicable steps to make work safe. It recognises that those involved in the work (employers and employees) are in the ideal position to decide on the best way to make their workplace safe. The Health and Safety in Employment Amendment Act 2002 increased the principal coverage of the HSE Act to include protection to volunteers (excludes sports organisations), persons in on-the-job training/work experience and employees on loan. The amendment also confirms that harm can occur from work-related stress and that temporary conditions may cause a person s behaviour to be hazardous. The guidelines and appendices in this section will help you to understand your duties and responsibilities, and those of your employees, in relation to health and safety. Who is responsible? There is a shared responsibility by employers, employees and others to ensure a safe and healthy workplace. Under the HSE Amendment Act in 2002, employees are required to take part in the process of maintaining a safe and healthy workplace. Employer responsibilities As an employer, under the Act, it is primarily your responsibility to ensure that work is carried out in a safe and healthy manner by performing the following duties: Provide and maintain a safe working environment (refer HSE Act sections 6, 7). Provide and maintain facilities for the health and safety of employees at work (refer HSE Act section 6). Ensure any equipment in the place of work is designed, set up and maintained to be safe for employees (refer HSE Act section 6). Ensure systems of work do not lead employees to be exposed to hazards in or around their place of work (refer HSE Act sections 7-10). Develop procedures for dealing with emergencies that may arise while employees are at work (refer HSE Act section 12). Train and supervise employees (refer HSE Act section 13). Involve employees in the development of health and safety procedures (refer HSE Act section 14).

8 6 Employee responsibilities Employees also have a responsibility under the HSE Act: Not to endanger themselves or others (refer HSE Act section 19). This includes: following the employer s instructions regarding hazards in the place of work, and health and safety practices reporting hazards using and caring for protective clothing and equipment and emergency equipment not misusing or damaging equipment cooperating with the monitoring of workplace hazards and employees health (with permission) reporting work-related injuries or ill health not undertaking work that is unsafe. The Act provides that an employee may refuse to do certain work if that employee believes the work is likely to cause them serious harm not interfering with an accident scene (refer HSE Act section 26) complying with notices or other requirements of health and safety inspectors and departmental medical practitioners from OSH (including improvement or prohibition notices) (refer HSE Act sections 31, 33, 35, 37, 39-45). An employee with supervisory or management responsibilities may also represent the employer and therefore have employer responsibilities in addition to their own responsibilities, for example being in control of the place of work. Volunteers The Act describes a volunteer as any person who does not expect to be rewarded for work undertaken in their capacity as a volunteer and has not received any reward for this work. A person who is in a place of work for the purpose of receiving on-the-job training or gaining work experience is not included in the definition of volunteer by the Act. This means your organisation should ensure a safe work environment for anyone who is receiving on-the-job training or gaining work experience. If a volunteer does work on a regular and ongoing basis and the work is regarded as an integral part of the business or operation, those volunteers will be covered by certain parts of the Act, in particular the obligation to provide a safe work environment.

9 HEALTH AND SAFETY HEALTH AND SAFETY IN EMPLOYMENT ACT Certain volunteers are excluded by the Act, including those assisting with sport and recreation for: a sports club a recreation club an educational institution. Volunteers, such as those assisting with sport and recreation, who are not afforded specific and enforceable coverage under section 3C of the Act are provided general declaratory coverage under section 3D of the Act. This requires that all practicable steps be taken to ensure health and safety of the volunteer while he or she is doing work activity. If an OSH inspector is aware of a significant hazard that may affect the volunteer, the Inspector will request that steps be taken to eliminate, isolate or minimise the hazard as opposed to requiring steps to be taken. In summary, volunteers who are involved in sporting activities are still covered by the Act but the obligations to provide a safe environment under the Act are not enforceable.

10 8 Role of OSH The Occupational Safety and Health service (OSH) of the Department of Labour (DOL) administers and enforces the HSE Act. Health and safety inspectors provide information to employers and ascertain compliance with the Act. They are able to issue enforcement notices and prosecute under the HSE Act (refer HSE Act sections 29-45). Enforcement notices consist of improvement, prohibition or infringement notices. Improvement notices require the workplace to comply with various sections of the Act in a given timeframe. For example, a hazard notice that informs you that there is a hazard in the workplace must be dealt with. Before issuing this notice the Inspector must have tried to discuss the hazard with you. There is no penalty or fine associated with a hazard notice, but continued non-compliance may result in further action by a health and safety inspector. A prohibition notice is issued where it is determined that there is risk of serious harm occurring and may specify that employees are withdrawn from the work area. Continued non-compliance may result in an instant fine (infringement notice) or prosecution. Infringement notices may be issued for continued non-compliance with the Act and may result in an infringement notice which requires you to pay an instant fine (ranging from $100 to $4000). If a notice is issued and not complied with, the employer may be prosecuted (refer HSE Act sections 49, 50). If it is determined that you, as the employer, have not taken all reasonable practicable steps to ensure a safe workplace your organisation can be liable for a fine of up to $250,000. Refer to the OSH enforcement policy A Guide to the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992 (OSH, 2000). If an employee has suffered serious harm as a result of your knowingly operating an unsafe workplace (e.g. an accident occurs more than once in the same way), the fine can be up to $500,000.

11 HEALTH AND SAFETY ACCIDENT COMPENSATION CORPORATION (ACC) 9 Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) As an employer you are responsible for providing your employees with both a safe workplace and ACC cover (through levies) for work-related injuries. ACC WorkPlace Cover levy rates are determined by the cost of work-related injuries in an industry sector. So the fewer injuries that occur overall, the less each employer will have to pay in levies. Employers are able to participate voluntarily in an ACC workplace safety management practices programme or an ACC Partnership Programme. The workplace safety management practices programme can be used to strengthen your existing health and safety systems and offers the following benefits: It gives you an externally audited, national safety framework to work to. It proves your safety commitment to staff and members or associates. It rewards you with ACC levy discounts. It works to reduce injuries. Discounts on your ACC WorkPlace Cover levy are awarded on three levels, to recognise how comprehensive and effective your workplace safety management practices are. The three levels are: Primary (10% discount) Secondary (15% discount) Tertiary (20% discount). ACC will decide whether a discount is awarded, and at what level, on the basis of an independent audit of your workplace safety systems and procedures. Discounts apply for 24 months, starting from the first of the month after a successful audit. If you are willing and able to manage your own accident cover and employee claims, you can become part of the ACC Partnership Programme. Under the Programme, you effectively agree to act on behalf of ACC for your work-related injuries. There are two cover options to choose from the Partnership Discount Plan, and the Full Self- Cover Plan. Your organisation would need advanced health and safety systems and infrastructure to support this programme. More information is available through ACC:

12 10 Smoke-free Environments Act 1990 It is a requirement of the Smoke-free Environments Act 1990 that all employers have a written policy on smoking for all areas occupied by the employer and frequented by employees. This policy should be reviewed in consultation with employees every year. You also need to ensure there are prominent notices indicating where smoking is not permitted and locating permitted smoking areas (such as a sheltered outdoor balcony). You will need to develop a policy that meets the requirements of the Smoke-free Environments Act 1990 and the Smoke-free Amendment Act It should be based on the following principles: Everyone is entitled to a smoke-free environment in all the areas normally used for work. Everyone who does not smoke, or who does not wish to smoke in their place of work must, as far as is reasonably practicable, be protected from tobacco smoke in their place of work. The implementation a smoke-free policy depends on everyone responding courteously to the desire for a smoke-free environment. Recent amendments to the Act now place an obligation on the licensee of any licensed premises to take all reasonable practical steps to ensure that no person smokes at any time in any part of the premises other than an open area. This also applies to the operator of a restaurant. If a sporting organisation runs a bar or restaurant then it must ensure it takes reasonable steps to prohibit members and patrons from smoking in the restaurant and/or bar. The Act also imposes controls on the marketing, advertising and promotion of tobacco products and their association through sponsorship of other products and events. A sporting organisation should not be involved in any sponsorship or advertising that involves tobacco products. More information is available through the Ministry of Health:

13 HEALTH AND SAFETY WORKPLACE HEALTH AND SAFETY SYSTEMS 11 Workplace health and safety systems The main components of the Act require employers to show commitment to health and safety by providing systems and resources for: employer commitment and policy hazard identification and management accident management emergency management employee information, training and supervision employee involvement working with contractors. Employer commitment and policy When developing a Health and Safety policy manual (refer example appendix 5), you should list the objectives of the health and safety programme and how these objectives will be achieved. Objectives should be SMART specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound (including a target date for completion). You should also document who is responsible for achieving the objectives and ensure these objectives are reviewed annually. An example plan from the ACC website is provided in appendix 1. Your organisation s commitment to a health and safety programme should include a statement and an outline of staff and management accountabilities. A copy of your health and safety policies should be documented in the health and safety manual and there should be an abridged version in the health and safety employee handbook to ensure that your organisational commitment is fully recognised. Policies and procedures should be approved and regularly reviewed (for example yearly or two-yearly) to ensure that they are up to date (legislatively and organisationally). They should be authorised, signed and dated. A list of policies commonly found in a health and safety manual is provided in appendix 5 Manual review checklist.

14 12 Hazard identification and management Hazard Identification Section 7 of the HSE Act requires employers to have in place effective methods to systematically identify hazards to employees at work. Hazards may be: previously existing new potential. Hazards can be identified by: physical inspection of the workplace, equipment and work practices analysis of near miss accidents to determine the cause and prevent accidents of this nature in future analysis of tasks and how they are carried out in the workplace. Once identified, hazards must be assessed and significant hazards controlled. A significant hazard is a hazard that is an actual or potential cause or source of: serious harm harm where severity of harm relates to the frequency or extent of exposure harm which does not usually occur and is not easily detectable until a significant time after exposure to the hazard. Hazard identification and controls must be completed for each new or modified piece of equipment. An example of a hazard identification process is outlined in appendix 5 Hazard management policy. Prioritising hazards It is possible that in the process of identifying hazards there may be a number of significant hazards. Undertaking a risk assessment for each hazard will assist in prioritising hazard control methods. There are several methods available to determine risk. This involves considering two factors: Likelihood (the probable frequency that an injury or illness will occur as a result of the hazard). Impact (the severity or degree of injury or illness that could occur as a result of the hazard). The risk assessment method below is consistent with the SPARC Organisational Risk Management Toolkit. Refer to the SPARC website: www. sparc.org.nz. Likelihood and Impact are rated separately on a scale of 1 to 5 and then a risk level is determined as to whether the risk is a critical, high, moderate or low level risk. Likelihood, impact scale and risk assessment charts are provided below.

15 HEALTH AND SAFETY WORKPLACE HEALTH AND SAFETY SYSTEMS 13 Likelihood scale Score Scale Frequency of accident or illness 1 Rare May occur only in exceptional circumstances, e.g. less than 5% chance of occurring 2 Unlikely Could occur at some time, e.g. 5-29% chance of occurring 3 Possible Should occur at some time, e.g % chance of occurring 4 Likely Will probably occur in most circumstances, e.g % chance of occurring 5 Almost certain Will occur in most circumstances, e.g. 80%+ chance of occurring Impact scale Score Scale Severity of accident or illness 1 Minimal Negligible injury or illness 2 Minor Minor injury or illness requiring minor first aid and/or less than one week s recovery 3 Moderate Injury or illness requiring advanced first aid and medical visit (e.g. GP or hospital visit) and/or 1-6 weeks recovery 4 Major Injury or illness requiring advanced first aid and emergency medical assistance (e.g. hospitalisation) and/or more than 6 weeks recovery 5 Extreme Injury or illness requiring immediate emergency medical assistance and may result in permanent or long-term disabling effects or death. Hospitalisation likely to be for more than 6 weeks Risk assessment chart Likelihood Almost certain Impact Minimal Minor Moderate Major Extreme H H C C C Likely M H H C C Possible L M H C C Unlikely L L M H C Rare L L M H H Legend: C H M L Critical risk; immediate action required High risk; senior management attention is needed Moderate risk; management responsibility must be specified Low risk; manage by routine procedures When the risk has been determined, this should be entered into the hazard register (see example in appendix 2). The higher the risk, the greater the priority to control the hazard.

16 14 Controlling hazards Sections 8-10 of the HSE Act require that once hazards are identified you must eliminate, isolate or minimise them as follows: To eliminate a hazard you would change the situation so that the hazard no longer exists (e.g. fix an uneven floor). If this is not possible, you should attempt to isolate the hazard by putting in place a process or mechanism that keeps employees away from the hazard (e.g. wash floor outside work hours to prevent a slipping hazard). If this is not possible, then you must minimise the hazard by doing all you can to protect employees from harm (e.g. put signage up to warn of tripping/falling hazards on stairs). Appointed health and safety representatives are required to have training for the identification and control of hazards and are responsible for maintaining a hazard register. Specialist advice may be sought to control specific hazards (such as dangerous substances). A hazard register (see example in appendix 2) lets employees know of the potential areas of harm in the workplace. This list must be kept up to date and made available to existing employees. It should also be included in new employees induction packs. However, it is everyone s responsibility to identify hazards, complete a hazard notification form (see example in appendix 5 Hazard notification form) and discuss the issue with the nominated health and safety manager. Monitoring hazards Where a hazard cannot be eliminated and a minimisation approach is taken to manage a significant hazard, employers are required to monitor employees health (with the employees consent) in relation to exposure to the hazard. Monitoring ensures that the control measures implemented remain appropriate and can be changed if the hazard characteristics have changed. The frequency of monitoring should be determined based on the risk and potential for change in the characteristic of the hazard. We tend to think of hazards as things that cause physical harm, but amendments to the HSE Act in 2002 emphasised that stress and fatigue have potential to cause harm also. You should, therefore, monitor your employees health in terms of both physical and mental wellbeing. Monitoring may be by way of survey, visual inspection or sophisticated analysis (for example audiometry). Stress in the workplace Everyone experiences stress from time to time and most of us have ways in which we deal with it. Prolonged exposure to high levels of stress, however, may be detrimental to a person s health. Whilst it is difficult to monitor each employee s level of stress, you are required to ensure that your work practices don t cause unnecessary harm. In the same way you are required to put systems in place to manage other hazards, you must have systems to deal with stress in the workplace.

17 HEALTH AND SAFETY WORKPLACE HEALTH AND SAFETY SYSTEMS 15 For example, stress can be: inherent in the job a result of the way the job is organised (e.g. shift work, unpredictable work peaks) a result of excessive work demands related to personal factors (e.g. relationship status, financial issues etc). If you become aware of the fact that an employee is suffering from stress, you must have systems in place to assist to reduce the potential for harm. The best place to start is an open discussion with the employee. If their source of stress is work related (e.g. high workload, job content, conflict with colleagues) you can work together to take all reasonable practicable steps to reduce the stressful situation. Whilst you have no control over an employee s personal life and external factors that may impact on a person s ability to cope at work, you are still required to take some simple and practicable steps to help an employee deal with personal issues (if you know about them). Some examples of the kind of support you could provide in this situation are flexible work arrangements, reduced workload, paid leave or support to attend counselling. You will need to decide on the best ways to monitor stress levels and appropriate systems to manage stress in your workplace. Occupational Overuse Syndrome Occupational Overuse Syndrome (OOS) is a collective term for a range of conditions (including injury) characterised by discomfort or persistent pain in muscles, tendons and other soft tissues. Every case of OOS has the potential to be classified as a significant hazard because the condition may cause serious harm. Therefore the risk factors for OOS need to be controlled by eliminating the hazard if at all possible, or else by isolating or minimising the hazard. There is an approved code of practice for OOS available through OSH: Manual handling Manual handling is defined as any activity requiring a person to lift, lower, push, pull, carry, throw, move, restrain, hold or otherwise handle any animate or inanimate object. Any manual handling tasks that are likely to be a risk to health and safety in the workplace require hazard assessment and management. Staff should be provided with appropriate training where manual handling tasks occur in the workplace. There is a Code of Practice for Manual Handling published jointly by OSH and ACC. The code can be downloaded from either the OSH or ACC websites.

18 16 Workplace health and safety systems summary Keep your workplace SAFE by following this simple mnemonic: S Stop Look at the work, activities, equipment and substances A Assess Does the work present any hazards that can cause harm? Are they significant hazards? Are controls sufficient? F Fix Correct any hazards Eliminate, isolate or minimise E Evaluate Continue to monitor the hazard and controls Are controls effective?

19 HEALTH AND SAFETY ACCIDENT MANAGEMENT 17 Accident management The Act requires you to keep a record of all accidents (including near misses) at work. You should record this information in an accident register, an example of which is included in appendix 5 Accident form/register. The accident register also includes an accident investigation portion to find out what happened, what the causes were and what can be done to prevent it occurring in future. Serious harm must be reported to OSH as soon as possible after the event and in writing within seven days of the harm occurring. Serious harm is described in the first schedule of the HSE Act. Employees need to know how to manage an accident or incident. This information should be contained in the health and safety policy manual and should include: what to do if you are involved in a work accident or incident how to react in an emergency when you are on the scene the reporting and investigation process. Accident management summary After the initial management of the accident or incident (first aid), the process for managing the accident should include: C Correct Return to SAFE to correct the hazard A Accident Report the accident/incident as required Report serious harm. Contact the health and safety manager immediately R Rehabilitate Get involved in the rehabilitation process Provide a supportive environment for rehabilitation E Evaluate Has the rehabilitative process been successful? Will the steps in place prevent similar events? What have we learnt from the process?

20 18 Emergency management planning Fire The Building Act 1991 requires evacuation schemes for public safety where any building is used as a place: (a) (b) where 100 or more people are able to be present for different purposes or activities; or where facilities for employment are provided for more than 10 people (whether self-employed or employed by one or more employers). An evacuation procedure is required where facilities for employment are provided for fewer than 10 people. The evacuation procedure is put in place by the owner of any building to ensure the safety of all occupants when evacuating in the event of a fire. It must detail: what to do if a fire is discovered what to do if the fire alarms sound or you are warned of a fire how to get out of the building in an emergency what the fire alarm signal is. An evacuation scheme is an enhanced evacuation procedure that must be approved by the Fire Service. If an evacuation scheme is required, it is the responsibility of the building owner to ensure there is an approved and maintained evacuation scheme. An evacuation scheme will describe procedures for: what to do if you discover or are warned of a fire the duties and roles of wardens appointed to supervise the evacuation how to evacuate the building promptly to a place of safety how all building occupants are accounted for during an evacuation how to ensure that all persons with disabilities, including staff, visitors and associates are assisted and accounted for during an evacuation fire action notices in the building the maintenance of the evacuation scheme the safe operation of fire fighting equipment in the building. Section 21A(9) of the Fire Service Act 1975 allows for a waiver from the requirement to provide an evacuation scheme for a building. A waiver can only be granted when the Fire Service is satisfied that: the building has an adequate warning system occupants can evacuate unsupervised or unassisted disabled occupants do not require specialised care any evacuation would be safe, expeditious and efficient the building complies with the building code all exits are obvious to visitors.

21 HEALTH AND SAFETY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PLANNING 19 Your organisation should have access to either an evacuation scheme or evacuation procedure. It is important that all staff familiarise themselves with this. There should be a nominated building warden and floor warden if you are located on more than one floor of a building. Fire warden training should be provided to a delegated fire warden. Links to training providers can be found on the New Zealand Fire Service website. A fire drill (or trial evacuation) must be conducted every six months. If a false alarm is raised, this can be considered a drill. Following a fire drill, the process should be evaluated to identify any areas of concern or improvement. A checklist can be downloaded from the New Zealand Fire Service website. Further information on fire evacuation schemes, procedures and forms can be found at Other emergency procedures Employees should know and understand what to do in the event of an emergency. Other emergency procedures that require a written policy or process include earthquake, flood, bomb scare, armed hold-up, aggressive or violent situations, and security (working alone) (refer example health and safety manual in appendix 5). Further information is available at: wpg_url/being-prepared-businesses-index First aid The Act requires you to take all practicable steps in providing effective first aid arrangements. This means that you should have a nominated person on your staff who has had first aid training. A certified workplace first aider is an individual that has completed the two-day (16-hour) workplace first aid qualification. This qualification requires a two-yearly refresher course of one day. There are many first aid providers. A current list is available at: Being-Prepared-What-to-do-First-Aid? Additionally, you need to provide basic first aid supplies in every place of work while work is in progress. Where timely and convenient access to appropriate medical or ambulance services is restricted due to distance or remote location, then at least two trained personnel should be provided for up to every 10 employees. Employers also need to take into account their duties to people other than employees such as members of the public or participants at sports events that you may be responsible for. OSH provides guidance notes on providing first aid equipment, facilities and training, accessed from their website. Please see appendix 5 First aid policy, for a list of recommended minimum first aid kit contents for the workplace, and appendix 5 First aid register, for a sample first aid register.

22 20 Civil defence supplies As part of your emergency management planning, you should ensure there are adequate civil defence supplies held at your place of work, as this is a practical step the employer can take to ensure staff safety in such an emergency. The general rule of thumb is to have enough supplies such as food, water and blankets for your staff for three days. More information is available through your local city council; a link to your local city council is available at Emergency management summary Four components (4 Rs) are common to the approach taken in emergency management: R Reduction Reduce the risk of emergency events occurring and their potential impact (hazard management process) R Readiness Plan the response to an emergency event (policies and procedures are developed and known to all staff) R Response What to do when an emergency event occurs (staff implement emergency management policies and procedures) R Recovery Review emergency response after the event debrief staff and recommend changes to the emergency management policies and procedures if required

23 HEALTH AND SAFETY STAFF TRAINING, SUPERVISION AND PARTICIPATION 21 Staff training, supervision and participation Information for employees You must provide your employees with information about: hazards in the workplace hazards that may arise from work they are doing the steps taken to minimise the likelihood of harm occurring from these hazards where to find, how to use and how to maintain safety clothing and equipment how to deal with any emergencies that arise injury and accident reporting employee and employer responsibilities. Appendix 3 contains an example of an employee health and safety handbook as a guideline. It gives a general overview of the type of information you could cover; you will need to tailor this information to the specific procedures and processes you follow for health and safety. You will need to decide what information to include in your employee health and safety handbook, and the way in which the information should be delivered to meet the needs of your workplace and employees. Make sure you use appropriate language for your employees, so that the information is easy for everyone to understand. You should also ensure that your organisation s health and safety manual is readily available to staff. Training or supervision You are legally required to do everything possible to ensure that employees have adequate knowledge, experience, supervision and training to do their work safely. An induction process for new employees should include health and safety matters including identification and management of hazards. Appendix 3 Induction of new employees contains a checklist for health and safety induction of new employees. Suitable protective clothing and equipment If the role requires it you must provide suitable clothing, equipment and instructions on how to use it properly. It is not acceptable to give your employees money in lieu of clothing or equipment, or require them to provide their own (unless the employee volunteers to use his or her own equipment and you are satisfied it is suitable). It is your responsibility to ensure that all safety equipment, including protective clothing, is maintained. An example within sport and recreation would be the provision of reflective vests for staff whilst involved in an event (e.g. road or cross-country) where it is important that staff are highly visible to reduce risk of injury to either a staff member or competitor in an event.

24 22 Staff participation You must provide opportunities for employees to contribute to health and safety within the workplace. According to the Act, employees who wish to be involved (and union representatives if appropriate) are required to work together to develop, implement and maintain an employee participation system. This is simply a system that gives employees a reasonable opportunity to have input into health and safety. You should be able to demonstrate employee participation through documentation of meetings and activities that should occur at least quarterly. You are required to develop an employee participation system if: your organisation has more than 30 employees; you employ fewer than 30 employees and one of the employees or a union representing them asks for an employee participation system. If you already involve your employees in your health and safety processes, and all parties agree to maintain the status quo, you don t need to set up a new employee participation system. You will, however, need to set up a process by which your system can be reviewed, such as a staff survey that ascertains satisfaction with current employee participation. Your employee participation system should reflect the needs of your organisation. Examples of the things you might like to include are: the election of employees to act as health and safety representatives, either acting as individuals or as part of a health and safety committee (please see below for more information on health and safety representatives) the employees role in hazard identification setting up a process for ensuring regular cooperation between you and your employees on health and safety matters deciding on how many days paid leave will be allocated to each representative for health and safety training. Health and safety representatives Your elected representatives can work either individually to promote health and safety in the workplace or as part of a health and safety committee. Either way their objectives will be the same and may include things such as: encouraging a safe and healthy work environment for all employees raising awareness of health and safety in the workplace identifying potential hazards in the workplace discussing ways to manage the hazards with the employer investigating health and welfare complaints by employees investigating and recording accidents keeping up to date with health and safety policy and legislation. To be effective in their role your health and safety representatives must understand health and safety matters. To facilitate this, they are allowed, under the Act, to take paid leave to attend approved courses. A list of these courses is available from the Employment Relations Service website:

25 HEALTH AND SAFETY STAFF TRAINING, SUPERVISION AND PARTICIPATION 23 The Act provides a formula for how many days paid leave for approved training you are required to provide for your health and safety representatives and is based on the number of employees you have in your organisation as follows: Number of employees Maximum total number of days paid leave the employer must provide day for every 8 employees, or part of that number 281 or more 35 days plus 5 days for every 100 employees, or part of that number

26 24 Contractors and visitors Contractors and visitors are covered by the Act when they come into your workplace and it is your responsibility to advise them of health and safety procedures and their responsibilities in relation to these. The key things you may wish to advise on are: building evacuation procedures the need to take all practicable steps to ensure their own safety and that of others (this includes advising a staff member of any special assistance that may be required in case of an emergency requiring evacuation) reporting all accidents and near misses complying with health and safety policy and procedures. Visitors and contractors can be protected against hazards by use of a combination of signage, restricted access, supervision and security. You should ensure that there is a record kept of all contractors and visitors on-site. If contractors or visitors are not escorted, then you may wish to issue them with an identity badge and have them sign an acknowledgement that they have read and understood the health and safety visitor requirements while on the premises. You must ensure that contractors provide you with details of any hazards that they may bring on-site or of any hazards they may create as a result of the nature of work being undertaken together with how these hazards may be mitigated.

27 HEALTH AND SAFETY HEALTH AND SAFETY AND EVENTS 25 Health and safety and events Most sporting organisations are involved in event management, which requires careful consideration of health and safety issues. If you are an event organiser, you have a duty of care to ensure that staff, participants, spectators, volunteers and the general public are protected from avoidable risk. It is also your responsibility to undertake a hazard and risk assessment. The types of hazards that you might encounter relating to health and safety may include: accident and first aid matters (participant competitors, officials, staff, spectators, volunteers) structural collapse human waste disposal crowd control lost children traffic loss of utilities (water, sewerage, etc) hazardous materials food waste disposal an emergency such as fire, earthquake, evacuation security communication issues food handling. It is important to consider every possible hazard and risk that may occur and manage these risks. This may require some expert advice including formation of a committee where specific responsibilities are assigned to ensure that health and safety responsibilities are comprehensively managed. After identifying risks and assessing these, you need to implement a risk mitigation strategy so that risks can be either eliminated or mitigated. If a risk occurs, you will then be prepared to deal with it appropriately and meet your legal obligations to do so. The event risk management process is summarised in figure 1. An example checklist from the SPARC Organisational Risk Management Toolkit is in appendix 4.

28 26 Event risk management process 1. Identify event 2. Identify risks and their causes 3. Identify controls 4. Conduct risk analysis Consider likelihood Examine impact Determine risk level 5. Evaluate risks Is the risk acceptable? Yes No Implement controls in step 3 What more should be done? Go back to step Write plan 7. Implement and communicate plan 8. Monitor/Review FIGURE 1: RISK MANAGEMENT OVERVIEW (ADAPTED FROM AS/NZS 4360)

29 HEALTH AND SAFETY HEALTH AND SAFETY AND EVENTS 27 Event management should include liaison with local government, emergency services, Transit New Zealand (if applicable) and insurers who can support event organisers, including providing advice on planning, required permits and licences. More information related to health and safety and events includes: SPARC Organisational Risk Management Toolkit: The New Zealand Standard SNZ: HB 8669:2004 Guidelines for Risk Management in Sport and Recreation. Available through Standards New Zealand: Safety Planning Guidelines for Events, available through Safety Planning Guidelines for Events forms, available through

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31 Appendix

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33 HEALTH AND SAFETY APPENDIX 1 31 Appendix 1 Example health and safety programme plan {Insert your company name here} Overall objective To achieve the Primary level of the ACC Workplace Safety Management Practices programme by {insert date here}. Objective Action Plan Person Date Status 1 Budget 1. Adopt and implement the organisation s health and safety manual by {insert date here} 2. Establish the health and safety team by {insert date here} 3. Review the hazards in the workplace by {insert date here} 4. Complete a review of training practices by {insert date here} i. Review the policy, make the necessary changes, and sign and date it ii. Distribute and publicise the policy iii. Establish the incident and injury register and meet with all employees to advise them of the process for reporting incidents and injuries i. With employee representatives, agree upon the process for selection of the health and safety team ii. Develop the timetable for the meetings (at least quarterly) iii. Confirm the actions that the team will undertake for the coming year i. Review the organisation s generic hazard register ii. Identify site-specific hazards, assess to see if they are significant hazards and develop appropriate controls iii. Train staff in the methodology iv. Undertake the necessary workplace monitoring and personal health monitoring i. Identify training needs for each job position ii. Establish competence level of all staff iii. Identify suitable training courses/ trainers/training programmes 1 Status refers to whether the objective is active or completed and may also record final cost if completed.

34 32 Annual and ongoing activities Element Action When Responsibility Status Employer commitment Planning, review and evaluation Hazard identification, assessment and management Incident and injury reporting, recording and investigation Employee participation Emergency planning i. Review the policy Annual Health and safety representatives i. Review the current health and safety plan ii. Prepare the health and safety plan for the coming year iii. Complete annual selfassessment i. Update hazard identification, including hazards associated with new or changed equipment and processes ii. Review the hazard register to ensure that controls are in place and effective iii. Complete monthly workplace inspections iv. Undertake workplace and personal health monitoring i. Review and analyse the incident and injury data i. Health and safety representatives to meet regularly i. Arrange two emergency evacuation exercises ii. Re-examine/update the emergency plan after each exercise Annual Annual Annual Annual Monthly Annual Annual Quarterly Health and safety representatives Health and safety representatives Health and safety representatives Health and safety representatives 6 monthly Health and safety representatives Source: adapted from an example found at:

35 HEALTH AND SAFETY APPENDIX 2 33 Appendix 2 Sample hazard register Hazard Identification and Analysis Action Significant Hazard and potential harm hazard? Practicable to Controls required Eliminate? Isolate? Minimise? (including existing) Person responsible Date of action Completed by Yes/No Yes/No Yes/No Yes/No Risk category Lifting/manual handling risk of back injury M Y Y Make arrangement with couriers to handle heavy packages or take them where they need to go Use trolley Ask for assistance Training in back care Refer OSH publication Code of Practice for Manual Handling H&S rep / H&S rep /. Computer use (VDU) risk of Occupational Overuse Syndrome (OOS) M Y Y Make sure workstations are set up Vary tasks as much as possible Provide OOS training Comply with the OSH publication Approved Code of Practice for the use of VDUs in the Workplace / H&S rep /. Workload Stress L Y Y Ensure office is adequately staffed Ensure staff are sufficiently trained to complete work required Make sure job descriptions are clear Ensure staff use annual leave entitlements CEO / Annual Review by CEO /. Loose flooring H Y Y Fix any areas of uneven flooring (temporary signs to warn staff) and contract flooring specialist to repair immediately Office Manager / Contractor.../

36 34 Appendix 3 Sample employee health and safety handbook {Insert your organisation name and logo here} Employee health and safety handbook 1.0 HEALTH AND SAFETY It is up to all of us to create a safe and healthy workplace. We need to work together and do all we can to prevent accidents and illness in our work environment. This handbook provides a summary of information relevant to health and safety in the workplace and we ask that you familiarise yourself with it. We recognise that if we work together on all aspects of health and safety we will get a better end result. Please refer to the full policy and procedure manual for more detail. 1.1 As your employer it is our responsibility to: identify, manage and control hazards to establish safe work practices provide information to foster awareness of health and safety provide protective clothing and equipment as required make adequate preparations for emergencies record all accidents and near misses and investigate where necessary to ensure future accidents are avoided ensure you are properly trained and supervised to do your work in a healthy and safe manner provide reasonable opportunities for you to be involved in health and safety. 1.2 As an employee it is your responsibility to: contribute to the process of hazard identification, analysis and control ensure all work accidents and illnesses are reported and recorded use any protective clothing and equipment provided not undertake any work which is unsafe look out for the safety of fellow employees observe all workplace safety rules and hazard controls. 1.3 Induction On joining the company you will be given information on our health and safety procedures, health and safety representatives, access to first aid and evacuation procedures. You will also be given a list of all hazards identified in our workplace (hazard register) and the location of all safety equipment. 1.4 Hazard identification We are all responsible for identifying potential hazards in the workplace. A list of identified hazards should be included in your induction pack. Please let your health and safety representative know if you see anything you consider hazardous so he/she can add this to the hazard register and take action to prevent this from causing harm.

37 HEALTH AND SAFETY APPENDIX Getting involved in health and safety employee participation We are keen to encourage employees to share in the management of health and safety in the workplace. If you wish to be involved please let our Health and Safety Representative know. 1.6 First aid We have first aid people who are trained to assist with emergencies. Please ensure they are aware of any medical conditions you have which may need special treatment should an emergency arise. 1.7 Smoking All areas within the building are designated non-smoking. Smoking is permitted in [area] outside. 2.0 HEALTH AND SAFETY PROCEDURES 2.1 Dealing with accidents We are required to report all accidents, as part of our process of identifying and dealing with hazards. All accidents must be recorded in the accident register, which includes a record of every accident or incident (including near misses ) at work. When an incident occurs in the workplace please follow these steps: Make sure the injured person has received the required medical attention (i.e. first aid, doctor or ambulance, depending on the severity of the accident). Tell the Health and Safety Representative, who will carry out an investigation and record the incident in the accident register. When an accident involving serious harm occurs: don t move the injured person seek appropriate medical assistance advise the Health and Safety Representative occupational Safety and Health (OSH) may wish to inspect the scene, so don t interfere with the accident scene unless: the person s life is in danger it is essential to maintain access for the public to essential services it is necessary to prevent damage to, or loss of, property advise the local OSH branch as soon as possible by phone, fax or cooperate with any investigation conducted send written confirmation (accident register) to OSH within seven days take steps to eliminate, isolate or minimise any identified hazard as soon as possible.