Get your own Free Home PageA large number of workers suffer a work related illness. For many of these workers at least four days off work are required and in some cases huge compensation pay outs are made by the employer.
The employer is responsible for providing a safe workplace, however, managers and supervisors are also responsible for telling the employer about workplace hazards. If an employer does not provide a safe workplace they could be fined thousands of dollars in the event of an accident.
The Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Service of the Department of Labour in New Zealand sets out the rules and regulations that workplaces must follow in order to provide safe work practices. This is known as the The Health and Safety in Employment Act. This Act is a special law passed by the government. Its main goals are to:
1. Protect persons at work against hazards.
2. Assist in securing safe and clean work environments.
3. Reduce and control the number of hazards that people are exposed to at work.
To make sure the Act is followed through, there are several Health and Safety branches covering all regions of the country. Investigations are carried out by officers from each branch to make sure that the workplace is safe and the health of employees is not being damaged. At each branch there are a number of people who work with employers to make the workplace a safe as possible.
In some cases in the workplace, hazards are unavoidable. The Health and Safety committee needs to make sure that workers are protected from these hazards and have been trained to work safely around the hazards. Click on the headings below to see some of the types of hazards that workers need to be aware of.
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