What a Health and Safety Committee is Not
Weekly WHS Article 26th October 2023
It has been over 10 years since New South Wales adopted the Model WHS laws. The WHS Act and WHS Regulation replace the repealed OHS Act and OHS Regulations that had previously been in force from 2001-2011. The Model WHS laws aim to provide for a balanced and nationally consistent framework to secure the health and safety of workers and workplaces.
WHS Law and Corporate Governance.
One of the key elements that the Model Laws clarify very well is Governance. Identifying “WHS duty holders” and “duties” as the first things in the WHS Act establishes who has accountability to act and what specific duties apply to each duty holder. In summary,
Every person in a workplace is a "duty holder" (PCBU, Officers, Workers, and Others).
Every duty holder under the WHS act has duties.
Section 17 of the WHS Act and Clause 32 of the WHS Regulation, direct the PCBU (the organizational entity) to manage (eliminate or minimize) WHS risks.
Section 14 of the WHS Act clearly states that duties are not transferrable. This means, a PCBU’s risk management obligation cannot be subcontracted to any external party. Similarly, a director or an officer cannot assign their duties to “someone else” lower on the chain of command.
Sections 46-49 of the WHS Act establish that Directors and CEOs (as representatives of the PCBU) must consult with workers for their feedback, information, ideas, and views on WHS matters before decisions are made on the matter. Managers consult. Workers are consulted. Every person who might be affected by a WHS issue or matter has to be consulted. And it is the duty of those persons to respond.
Sections 50-59 of the WHS Act details the formation of groups of workers for the purpose of WHS consultation and having health and safety representatives for each workgroup represent the people in those work groups. Forming work groups and electing HSRs becomes mandatory, even if only one person in the workforce requests it.
At a more administrative level, a health and safety committee may be useful in addition to having HSRs or in smaller businesses where the health and safety of the workplace as a whole is addressed.
Additionally, as per Section 77c, Section 47(3) and Section 48 of the WHS Act, a health and safety committee can assist management to consult on WHS matters. This may be beneficial if the workforce is large and there are many work groups whereby it might be difficult or time-restrictive for management to get information they need on WHS matters to be decided on. An HSC acts as a conduit between management and the workforce.
A health and safety committee has no “operational” role
It is the duty of the PCBU to provide and manage the WHS management system. This includes managing risks and hazards. Directors and CEOs must ensure necessary actions occur and control measures are put in place. The supervisors and managers of the business ensure the established policies and procedures are adhered to.
Appropriate staff can be appointed to carry out a risk assessment on behalf of the organisation, as long as they are competent to do so but in no way should this be done as an effort of a business owner or director to pass over their responsibilities to someone else. WHS duties “are not transferable.”
The management team should start the process and discuss risks with workers. In fact, consulting with workers during each step of the risk management process is a crucial aspect. The committee facilitates co-operation between the management and workers. The committee may assist management to get information from workers about proposed controls for risks that have been assessed but it is the duty of management to ensure the risk assessments are conducted in the first place when and as needed, irrespective of “when the next committee meeting is.”
A health and safety committee has no “authority”
The Health and Safety Committee has the power to make recommendations to Management, however, the committee does not have the “authority” to implement those recommendations. Senior management make the decisions.
Section 77 of the WHS Act clearly outlines functions of a health and safety committee, i.e.,
to facilitate co-operation between the PCBU and workers in instigating, developing, and carrying out measures designed to ensure the workers’ health and safety at work, and
to assist in developing standards, rules and procedures relating to health and safety that are to be followed or complied with at the workplace.
So, the question is, “Is your committee achieving the purpose for which it was established?”
Is your committee trained in WHS basics, consultation, and basics of risks management principles?
Courtenell offers numerous options to train your committee members. Training is equally suitable for your management representatives and worker representatives on the committee. While most worker representatives on health and safety committees are usually HSRs too, the prescribed training for HSRs does not get much into the specifics of how a HSC interacts with HSRs nor how an HSC can assist with consultation and help develop measures. For some businesses HSC-specific training may be useful. If you think this may be of benefit to your business please contact one of our WHS training consultants to discuss.
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26th October 2023
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