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A beginner's guide to health and safety in New ZealandIt happens with any subject of special interest: the people who've been kicking around for a while tend to forget that the background knowledge they take for granted is not held by newcomers to the field. We're not talking details here. It's the overall structure, how things hang together, how the main elements relate to one another. If you don't have a feel for the basic framework, then it is difficult to correctly place any new item of information into its proper context. This guide makes as few assumptions as possible about the knowledge of the reader. A word of warning: this is a subjective guide. Someone else would include things we have left out, and omit some material we have put in. Some of you might disagree with the views expressed. Fine - but don't keep it to yourself. Let us know what you think. (Please note: this guide has been put together by Safeguard's editorial staff. We welcome suggestions for players we may have omitted, but these will be considered on their merits. Entry to this guide is not for sale.) What is "occupational health and safety" (OHS)?The attempt to ensure that people at work return home in at least as good a condition as when they arrived, over the period of their working life. What's the difference between "health" and "safety"?The key difference is time. In an unsafe workplace you risk being injured or killed at any moment. In an unhealthy workplace the risk is to your long-term health. Each year, work-related "safety" or trauma deaths kill somewhere between 50 and 100 people, possibly more. However, deaths due to illnesses caused by exposures at work have been estimated at 700 each year, based on comparisons in the world research literature. Another way of looking at it is to say that safety is about avoiding injury and health is about avoiding disease. In a work context, "disease" covers a range of conditions such as deafness due to workplace noise, heart disease due to stress, cancer due to breathing asbestos fibres, mental disturbances due to solvent exposure, and so on. Why is OHS important?At the personal level, it's a no-brainer. At the organisational level, a company which cannot manage the health and safety of its staff is unlikely to manage anything well, including quality, productivity, morale and, ultimately, profit. At the national level, it is estimated that the cost of workplace injury and ill health is at least $3 billion a year. Halving our rate of work injury would give a significant boost to the economy. Who are the main players in OHS in NZ?One selection - in no particular order - is:
What's the government's role in this?The government passes laws which set down the minimum standards of OHS performance required to be observed by employers, employees and others involved in the workplace. It also operates two key OHS agencies:
Other government agencies with a particular interest in the health and safety of people at work include the Maritime Safety Authority (workers at sea) and Land Transport New Zealand (commercial drivers), and the Civil Aviation Authority. What is the main OHS law?The principal statute is the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992 (known as the HSE Act), which came into force in April 1993. It replaced a number of other statutes and was intended to bring the OHS of all workers under a single act administered by a single agency. The main aim of the act is to prevent harm to employees at work by promoting excellence in the management of OHS by employers. It is described as non-prescriptive or performance-based legislation, which means it defines the standard of OHS required of - mainly - employers, rather than any specific details of how to achieve it. In that respect it is similar to other pieces of legislation in the UK and Australia inspired over the last 30 years by the ground-breaking report of Lord Robens, published in Britain in 1972. The HSE Act was amended significantly in 2003. While the overall thrust of the law remains unchanged, there were some significant changes, including an extension of the sectors coverred by the act, enhanced provision for employee participation and training, clarification of the duty to address hazards, and a range of new interventions for Department of Labour inspectors and health and safety reps to raise and resolve issues." Is there any other law relating to OHS?The HSE Regulations 1995 are prescriptive and cover specific topics which the government feels cannot be left to non-prescriptive "best practice", such as workplace facilities (drinking water, toilets etc), permissible noise levels, working at heights of more than 3 metres, excavations with faces more than 1.5m in height, and so on. Other prescriptive regulations administered by OSH include those governing asbestos, pressure equipment, cranes, and passenger ropeways. The health and safety of workers at sea is covered by the Maritime Transport Act 1994, which takes its safety cue from the HSE Act and is administered by the Maritime Safety Authority. The Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act 1996 (HSNO) covers the use of hazardous substances in workplaces. Though HSNO is overseen by the Environmental Risk Management Authority (ERMA), the Department of Labour and local authorities will share the task of monitoring workplace compliance. What are the main duties on employers under the HSE Act?
Does anyone other than employers have duties under the act?Yes. The act imposes similar duties on the self-employed, on people with control over a place of work, and on principals who contract others to carry out work. What about employees?Employees have duties to others in the workplace and to other people in the vicinity. However, workers who injure themselves while breaching the law are seldom prosecuted, as they are considered to have already suffered their penalty. The 2003 amendments mean employees must be given reasonable opportunity to participate in processes for the improvement of health and safety in their workplace. What are the penalties for breaching the HSE Act?The maximum penalty for a standard breach is $250,000. However, where the defendant is found to have known that its actions or inactions were likely to cause serious harm, the maximum penalty is a fine of $500,000 and/or two years in prison. The Department of Labour health and safety inspectors also have the power to issue infringement notices for minor breaches up to a maximum of $4000, without the need for a court hearing. Who makes sure the law is complied with?The Department of Labour has a head office in Wellington and branch offices around the country. Its field staff includes warranted health and safety inspectors, occupational health nurses and accident prevention consultants. Most prosecutions arise after serious injury accidents, or from persistent breaches of the law. (Up until 2003, only inspectors could bring prosecutions under the HSE Act. However, under the amended act, anyone can now bring a prosecution provided the department has decided not to prosecute.) The Department of Labour supplies information relating to the HSE Act and compliance, and also encourages the development of guidelines and codes of practice setting out best practice for particular industry sectors. If I'm injured at work, who can I sue?The short answer is no one. This is where ACC comes in. Since 1974 - with a brief interruption in 1999/2000 - ACC has been the monopoly provider of accident insurance cover for everyone in New Zealand. It offers universal, 24-hour no-fault coverage for injuries suffered in the home, at work, on the roads, playing sport, by medical misadventure or from sexual abuse. An injured person sees a healthcare provider and makes a claim for compensation from ACC. If the claim is declined there is a system of reviews and appeals available. As a rule, an injured person can only sue for compensatory damages if their injury is not covered by ACC. A handful of people have succeeded in doing so, for things such as ill-health brought on by work-related stress. Regardless of ACC, it is still possible to sue for exemplary damages, which are damages designed to punish rather than compensate. However, the degree of negligence which must be proved is so great that few people attempt it. When a company or individual is convicted under the HSE Act for a workplace incident that has caused injury, the courts will often order a payment of reparations to compensate the victim (or his/her survivors) for out-of-pocket expenses and emotional harm. Awards vary widely, but have reached more than $100,000 in some cases. Can I claim for ill health related to my work?Yes, but convincing ACC isn't easy. Specialists in occupational medicine will look for evidence that your ill health was substantially caused by your work. Even if there is circumstantial evidence that your ill health followed exposure to some substance or process at work, your claim is likely to be rejected unless there is also a plausible, research-backed mechanism to explain how the exposure caused your ill health. What else does ACC do?The original intention behind the establishment of ACC was was for it to be responsible for promoting injury prevention, ensuring rehabilitation of injured people, and compensating them for their losses - and in that order. Over the years, however, the order of importance was largely reversed, so that ACC came to be seen to be primarily concerned with compensation. Since 2000, the government has repositioned ACC to be the prime driver of injury prevention efforts nationwide. It retains its two other roles: assisting the rehabilitation of the injured, in which it works closely with private sector providers, and in providing financial compensation, home help and other assistance to injured people. I'm confused. Which agency - the Department of Labour or ACC - is responsible for educating people about injury prevention?The short answer is both, though this has been the subject of debate over the years. The current government has charged ACC with the chief education role, covering injury prevention in all contexts: workplace, sports, vehicle, in the home, etc. The Department of Labour retains an education function within workplaces as part of its wider role in enforcement. I employ people. Why should I take OHS seriously?Here are four reasons for starters (there are probably a few more). 1. Ethics. Responsible employers don't want their staff hurt. Do the right thing by your people. 2. Self-interest. If one of your people is seriously hurt or killed, it will fall to you to make the phone call to the next of kin. How would you feel about that? 3. Avoid having to deal with lawyers and courts. OSH mostly prosecutes after serious injuries or fatalities. Never mind the fines - being dragged through the courts costs a fortune in legal fees and bad publicity. 4. It's more profitable. Research consistently shows that companies which put in the hard yards on OHS reap rewards including better quality, higher productivity and - yes - higher profits. What incentives are there to help me?ACC offers premium discounts for organisations which succeed in entering its Partnership and Workplace Safety Management Practices programmes. To enter these programmes you will need to pass an OHS audit conducted by an approved third party auditor. The extent to which you pass will determine your premium discount. ACC has recently set up a similar incentive scheme for small businesses operating in selected high-risk industry sectors. I'm just an ordinary employee. What's OHS got to do with me?Plenty. For starters, you want to go home tonight in one piece. Also, under the HSE Act you can be prosecuted for harming your workmates or other people in the vicinity. Also, your employer has a duty to consult you about how OHS is managed in your workplace, and in many workplaces you can join OHS committees or be elected an OHS representative with statutory powers. Why not? It's your life at stake. Where do I buy OHS equipment?The specialist safety equipment market is dominated by a few large chains with branches nationwide. There are a number of smaller safety retailers, and many other suppliers who do not have a retail presence. The annual Safeguard Buyers Guide directory lists suppliers of equipment and services such as training, consultancy and so on. Which professional bodies could I join?Health and safety practitioners and others with an interest in the topic can join the New Zealand Institute of Safety Management and the New Zealand Safety Council. Another body open to everyone is the New Zealand Ergonomics Society, many of whose members take an active interest in OHS. The NZES has a graduated system of professional registration recognised overseas. A more specialised body is the New Zealand Occupational Health Nurses Association which is open only to registered occupational health nurses. Other groups open to all include the Injury Prevention Network of Aotearoa New Zealand and the NZ Society for Risk Management, both of which include workplace health and safety within a wider brief. Where can I learn to become an OHS practitioner?There are many providers of OHS training, ranging from short half-day courses to full degree courses taking three years or more of full-time or part-time study. Which groups lobby on OHS issues?Lobbying is usually done by employer and union groups. Most active on the employer side are Business New Zealand and the EMA (Northern), while for workers the NZ Council of Trade Unions and the NZ Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union are both active in OHS issues. Another organisation which is known to have its say is Site Safe New Zealand, which is dedicated to improving OHS in the construction sector. Funded by construction companies, it offers training courses, runs passport schemes to identify people who have received training, and develops best practice documents. A number of OHS professional bodies have joined the Occupational Health and Safety Industry Group (OHSIG). This new group aims to present a united front on health and safety issues, and to lobby government on behalf of its member bodies. The New Zealand Association of Accredited Employers represents companies belonging to ACC's Partnership Programme. It liaises with ACC on behalf of its members. Groups which lobby on behalf of victims include the Asbestos Diseases Association (Ph 09 827 4912) and the Support Network for the Aldehyde and Solvent Affected. The Injury Prevention Research Unit at the University of Otago is the leading academic research body into injury causation, including work injuries. Its research reports are widely distributed The Centre for Human Factors and Ergonomics (COHFE) also conducts OHS research, particularly into forestry issues but also into manual handling and other ergonomic themes. What about consultants?There are many people who describe themselves as health and safety consultants, but beware - as yet, there is no professional registration scheme in place, so anyone can call themselves an OHS consultant. Some are highly qualified, others have years of experience, and a few score on both counts. As always, the best advice is to seek the opinion of previous clients. So where do I start?Visit the ACC and the Department of Labour websites. You will find a huge range of publications available to order, in both hard copy and downloadable pdf formats. Those publications which aren't free are usually priced at $20 or less. Publications cover the basics - introductions to the HSE Act and how to comply with it, how to conduct hazard identification exercises - as well as codes of practice and guidelines for specific industry sectors and for many specific work functions. Spend half an hour searching these sites and you will be amply rewarded. For an introduction to wider injury prevention issues, the IPRU site is a good starting point. There is also Safe-NZ, New Zealand's most active email community of health & safety practitioners. Membership is free. |
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