WORK HEALTH AND SAFETY

From January 1, 2012, new Work Health and Safety laws will apply across all workplaces in Australia.

In many cases the new provisions reflect existing arrangements: however there is now an even stronger commitment by the regulatory authorities to ensuring compliance with national standards. Business will be expected to be able to demonstrate compliance through specific risk plans and other required documentation. Penalties for non-compliance are considerable.

Some essential elements of the new arrangements include:

• Responsibility within the business for identifying and consulting on risks and hazards
• Preparing a risk assessment for various hazards
• Ensuring that control mechanisms remain effective
• Keeping effective risk management records and documentation
• Demonstrating that Health and Safety policies are up to date
• Compliance and best practice requirements set out in a series of Codes of Practice:
• How to manage work health and safety risks
• How to consult on work health and safety
• Managing the work environment and facilities
• Managing noise and preventing hearing loss at work
• Hazardous manual tasks
• Confined spaces
• How to prevent falls at workplaces
• Labelling of workplace hazardous chemicals
• Preparation of safety data sheets for hazardous chemicals
• How to manage and control asbestos in the workplace
• How to safety remove asbestos, and
• Facilities for construction sites.

The new arrangements will also require businesses to engage in greater levels of consultation with suppliers and contractors to ensure that all risk areas have been adequately covered.

Having a strong commitment to a safety culture embedded across all areas of the business will contribute significantly to ensuring compliance with the new Work Health and Safety Laws.

For further information and advice, please contact me as below.

Ron Jones

Mobile: +61 427 273 283
Email: ron@rightworkadvice.com.au
Web: www.ronjonesconsulting.com.au
Mail: PO Box 1973 WEST PERTH WA 6872
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/rightworkadvice

How Fair Does it Need to be?

By Ron Jones
HR Management & Workplace Relations Consultant

Much has been written recently on the need for improvements in the Fair Work Act 2009. The groundswell of opinion has been mounting for some time, and has intensified in recent weeks.

There may be a number of reasons for this: genuine concerns as to limitations of the Act; the build up of pressure for a review that must be conducted soon anyway; and the possibility of adding a further nail in the coffin of a Labor Government.

It must also be remembered that much of the bleating coming from various lobby groups is just sour grapes: bodies such as ACCI and the Australian Industry Group were heavily involved in the proceedings that led to the current system. They predominantly represent the interests of large corporations which have the resources to deal with the changes. To listen to them now, you would think they had been asleep for the last few years. Actually, they probably were if they failed to fully comprehend how the new system would play out. Such groups need to be careful to avoid an accusation that they are really only complaining now because they failed to advise their members how to deal with changes and how to defend themselves against the unions.

In my view, there is much to be applauded with the new modern award system: it has removed many of the problems of Work Choices and created a genuine attempt to build a stronger enterprise focus for workplace management.

However, there are areas where reform to the new modern award and individual flexibility arrangements is needed.

Some examples of areas of concern are: differences in implementing time and a half and double time for overtime; minimum times for employment of casual staff; clarity around when a casual ceases to be deemed a casual and what arrangements should be implemented when a casual is converted to part time or full time; transition arrangements from old awards; clarity as to the determination of award free status.

It is also important to recognise that the changes have had, and continue to have, a significant impact on many small to medium size businesses. Many business owners are struggling to fully comprehend the changes and what they need to do to ensure compliance. There is a real need for a moratorium on prosecutions until a full education campaign has been conducted.