Health and Safety Flashcards
Why should we be concerned about health and safety?
- no company wants a staff member seriously injured or killed
- reputational concern of the company
flow on effects from workplace incident
- loss of productivity
- loss or dents in staff morale
stimulus for writing new act
- Pike River (2010)
- Christchurch earthquakes (2010-2011)
Key Foundations of Act
- Royal Commision Pike River Report (2012)
- Report of independent task force on workplace health and safety (april 2013)
- “working safer: a blueprint for health and safety at work” (august 2013)
Common themes/outcomes of three reports
- a lack of clear industry guidance from regulator
- desire to review and develop regulations
- need for increased collaberation and cooperation between government regulator, industry stakeholders and participants
- creation of new stand-alone regulator –> worksafe nz
- need for shared responsibility for workplace h and s
- duty of due diligence to senior management
- desirability of increased penalties
- new act based on Australian Model Law
Royal Commission Report
- urgent law changes
- mines rescue act
- changes to health and safety employment act (1992)
- clear catalyst from which to develop health and safety law
Report of independent task force
15 recommendations, framed around the ‘levers’ of:
- accountability
- motivational
- knowledge
Major Changes to new act
- introduction of PCBU - primary duty holder
- positive duty of due diligence on those in senior management roles
- tiered culpability and offense regimes
- generally risk based, not hazard based
- focuses on proactive rather than reactive responses
Kept from original act
- duties aren’t transferrable by contracting out
- person may have more than one duty under act
- more than one person can have the same duty
- cannot insure against fines
main purpose of new act
to provide a balanced framework to secure the health and safety of workers and workplaces - draws on what is ‘reasonably practicable’
definition of reasonably practicable
that which is, or was at a particular time, reasonably able to be done in relation to ensuring health and safety, taking into account and weighing up all relevant matters
relevant matters
- the likelihood of the hazard or risk occuring
- the degree of harm that might result
- what the person concerned knows, or ought to know, about the hazard or risk
- availability and suitability of ways to eliminate or minimise the risk
- whether cost is grossly disproportionate to the risk
Inclusive definition of hazard
includes a persons behaviour, where that behaviour has the potential to cause injury or illness to a person
PCBU
Person Conducting a Business or Undertaking
- primary duty of care
- can be a PCBU whether a person is conducting a business alone or with others, and whether or not the business or undertaking is for profit or gain
PCBU does not include
- a person engaged soley as a worker
- if you are a volunteer association
- occupier of a home, to the extent that the occupier employs or engages another person soley to do residential work
- a statutory officer
- a person declared by regulations not to be a PCBU
