The journey towards better health and safety practices in the workplace today with the new Health and Safety at Work Act coming into force according to the New Zealand Government.
Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Michael Woodhouse says the new Act will help in achieving the government’s goal of a 25% reduction in workplace injuries and deaths by 2020.
The Act requires businesses to identify work-related risks and do what is ‘reasonably practicable’ to eliminate or manage them.
The Act says that everyone from company directors to casual labourers have health and safety responsibilities that reflect their ability to influence or control work.
There is a new requirement in the Act for all businesses to have effective worker engagement and participation processes for health and safety matters.
There is also a new duty in the Act on company officers to exercise due diligence when it comes to health and safety.
“This is the first major reform of workplace health and safety in more than 20 years and strikes the balance between ensuring workplaces are safe without imposing unnecessary red tape on business,” says Woodhouse.
“The new law makes it clear that everyone has a role to play in health and safety. It modernises our approach and recognises the complexity of 21st-century workplaces by encouraging more communication and co-operation, both within and between businesses,” he says
“The Health and Safety at Work Act does not require a business to eliminate all risks in the workplace at any cost – that’s not realistic. But it does demand to deal with risks in a sensible and proportionate way by those who are best placed to influence or control work,” says Woodhouse.
“The changes made in this new Act will help in achieving our goal of a 25% reduction in workplace death and injuries by 2020,” he says.
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