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Over 130 delegates attended the LegalSAFE Conference in November, which was held in Auckland on the 8th, Wellington on the 9th and Christchurch on the 10th. They were treated to an assortment of interesting and informative sessions. Alan Cooper, Practice Leader, Department of Labour opened the day with a session Why it’s not always the employer’s fault looking at the enforcement of the HSE Act in relation to serious harm incidents. He explained the stance the Department will be taking going forward where they will continue to investigate all parties in the supply chain who have duties under the act including employers, contractors, suppliers of plant and equipment as well as designers of machinery or buildings. An important issue for all given that many prosecutions of this nature have recently been tested before the courts in some high profile cases. Our legal eagles from Kensington Swan, Greg Cain, Sarah-Lee Stead and Rachel Burt presented a session on Investigating serious harm incidents. Delegates were given advice on carrying out their own internal investigations and what to expect in an investigation from the Department of Labour. Peter Lee-Cooper, Health & Safety Co-ordinator, Victoria Park tunnel project presented a case study on integrating contractor safety on a large project. He shared the innovative safety strategies they implemented to successfully form a cohesive team from the many contractors and organisations involved in the project. Peter philosophy of turning safety from a negative to a positive resulted in staff buy in and engagement. This session proved to be very popular with the delegates and they had some great ideas to take back to implement in their own workplaces. Lee Polychronopoulos, Managing Director, BSS NZ looked at the complex issue of whether employees are in fact fit for work. She explained the many causes of impairment including fatigue, drugs and alcohol, medication and psychological factors. This proved to be a very interesting session where delegates were challenged to ask themselves whether their staff were operating in an impaired state and what they can do to ensure that they are safe. She also challenged delegates to ask themselves whether they themselves are walking the “fit for work” walk. Samantha Turner, Simpson Grierson presented a session titled The truth about bullying and stress. This session covered some recent court decisions where employees alleged they had been bullied. Samantha looked at the facts of these incidents to reveal what was and what was not viewed as bullying and whether the employer in each case complied with its legal obligation to provide a safe workplace. She also looked at the complex issue of workplace stress and claims that have been made and how employers should respond to these claims. Very interesting indeed! The final session of the day was a panel discussion around the legal obligation under the HSE Act and the need to take “all practicable steps” to maintain a safe working environment. The Panel looked at what this means and how widely one should look to find “the current state of knowledge”. This session proved to be a very busy one for Alan Cooper from the Department of Labour with many questions fired his way in the quest to establish what is expected by the Department. Mike Cosman, Managing Director, Impac did a wonderful job as MC for the Conference inviting and encouraging questions and discussion from the delegates throughout the day. His invaluable knowledge was an added bonus for delegates who had many opportunities to ask him and the presenters questions relating to their own workplaces not only after each session but also during the lunch and morning break. We look forward to seeing you all again at LegalSafe 2012! For more details or to register call Annette Vao on 09 360 3712 or annette.vao@thomsonreuters.com |
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