Be safe and healthy at work with help from WorkSafe

WorkSafe is the regulator for the Health and Safety at Work Act in New Zealand.

In the third blog in our Safety At Work Series we take a look at the WorkSafe website and some of the information it provides to help you carry out your Primary Duty of Care as an employer, and keep your staff healthy and safe at work.

Your role as a business owner is to keep everyone safe and healthy

As defined by the Health and Safety at Work Act (HSWA) every business in New Zealand has a Primary Duty of Care to look after the health and safety of its own employees and any other employees or workers that its work impacts.

The Primary Duty of Care sets out that as a business it is your responsibility to ensure that you operate without impacting the physical or psychological health or safety of anyone within or outside your staff. This incorporates your infrastructure, your people, and your community.

Your Primary Duty of Care in action

To carry out your Primary Duty of Care you need to demonstrate not only that you are taking responsibility for health and safety, you also need to show how you are doing it.

This includes keeping your infrastructure (buildings, vehicles etc.) safe, keeping your people safe and proactively monitoring their health where necessary, and ensuring the right training and procedures are in place to protect everyone’s wellbeing.

We’re going to take a closer look at 5 key responsibilities in this article and connect you with more information on the WorkSafe website:

1. Managing your workplace and facilities
2. Providing the right training and information
3. Providing the right PPE
4. Carrying out Exposure Monitoring where necessary
5. Carrying out Health Monitoring where necessary

Managing your workplace and facilities

The right workplace and facilities can keep your employees healthy and safe. On its website, WorkSafe clearly sets out the requirements for a clean, healthy, safe, accessible and well maintained workplace as defined by the HSWA. This includes the layout, work areas, floors and surfaces, lighting, ventilation and temperature of the workplace.

Workplaces must also include the facilities required to support workers as they carry out their roles. This includes facilities such as toilets and drinking water, and making sure that sufficient facilities are provided for the number and types of worker in the workplace.

Workplace infrastructure and facilities need to be proactively managed because failing to do so could negatively affect the mental or physical health and wellbeing of the people who work there.

Want to know more? You can get more detail and tips on managing your workplace and facilities here.

Providing the right training/information

The level of information, training, instruction or supervision that your employees need to safely carry out their roles can vary depending on their experience and skill level, their role and the tasks they carry out. Your job as an employer is to assess their needs and put in place the right support and training so that they can be healthy and safe at work.

Some jobs need specialised training to keep employees safe – for example working at heights, working in enclosed spaces, or remote or isolated work.

For all information and training provided, consider how you will make sure it has been understood and how frequently you may need to provide refresher training.

Want to know more? You can find out details on how to assess and plan your information, training, instruction and supervision requirements here.

Providing the right Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

PPE provides protection for workers when it is not possible to reduce or eliminate risks to a worker’s health and safety.

If your workers are still exposed to hazards after you have made the workplace safe and provided the information and training they need, you should provide personal protective equipment (PPE).

PPE can protect your employees from specific hazards, and care should be given to making sure that all PPE works together if multiple items are required. It is your responsibility as a business and an employer to make sure that your people are provided with adequate PPE that meets industry standards, and that they know how to wear it for maximum protection.

The employee is also responsible for making sure they follow the direction of their employer and keep themselves and those around them safe. Find out more about the employee’s responsibilities with PPE here.

Want to know more? You can find out more about the employer’s responsibilities to provide PPE here.

Exposure monitoring

If you are unable to eliminate hazards in your workplace, you must determine what level of exposure and health monitoring is required to keep your employees healthy and safe at work.

Exposure monitoring allows you to track the levels of a hazard in your workplace or worksite as well as using biological monitoring to provide accurate data on the level of a hazard that a member of your team is physically exposed to.

Exposure monitoring can also help you to track the effectiveness of the controls you put in place. Exposure monitoring does not replace the need for controls.

Want to know more? Find out more about Exposure Monitoring here.

Health Monitoring for employees who are exposed to hazards

Health Monitoring is used to measure the health of your employees and ensure that it is not being impacted by exposure to hazards at work. Health monitoring and exposure monitoring are often carried out simultaneously.

Even when carrying out health monitoring, a business is still responsible for controlling and minimising hazards, including through the use of PPE.

Examples of health monitoring include audiometry to test for early hearing loss if your workers are exposed to loud noises or spirometry to test for lung function if your workers are exposed to airborne pollutants. Health monitoring does not include wellbeing testing, drug or alcohol testing or fitness to work examinations.

If you need to do health monitoring it must be carried out by an occupational health practitioner. All health monitoring costs are the responsibility of the employer.

Want to know more? Find out more about Health Monitoring and your responsibilities here.

Being healthy and safe at work with WorkSafe

The WorkSafe website is full of information that can make it easy to carry out your responsibilities as an employer and reduce the risks and hazards that the people who work with and for your business are exposed to.

To understand and explore more information about your responsibilities, visit the WorkSafe website. You can also find specialised information tailored to the specific hazards and needs of different sectors including construction and roading.

Allways Hire are committed to keeping your employees and our own safe. We are focused on providing you with the information you need to support your health and safety practices, and we dedicate time to making sure our own are the best that they can be. You can find out more about our health and safety plans and practices on our website.