Health and Safety
Frequently Asked Questions

The best way is to focus on 3 key things:

1. Risk Management
2. Worker Engagement
3. Due Diligence

There are 3 ways to assess how you are doing.

1. Take our FREE simple self-assessment – takes 5-10 minutes and we will provide you with advice
2. Use the SafePlus Online Tool (recommended for businesses with under 50 FTE’s)
3. Get us in to carry out a diagnostic assessment using Safe365

If you think you’re doing really well talk to us about whether getting an Independent SafePlus Assessment is the right thing for your business.

While there have been reports of some heavy handed cold-calling from ‘fly-by’nighters’, it cannot be denied that New Zealand’s record on serious injuries or deaths in NZ workplaces is not good.  The Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 is designed to reduce those incidents and allow more people to get home safely at the end of their work day.

It is important to choose a health and safety team who have plenty of experience and can provide solid testimonials whether your system needs a revamp or you are starting from scratch. Check they are HASANZ Registered also and have affiliations with relevant professional bodies such as NZISM or NZSC.

The key change in Health and Safety is a shift in focus from monitoring and recording health and safety incidents, to being proactive in identifying and managing risks. Our workplace injuries and fatalities must be reduced.

We already had processes for identifying and communicating hazards, so for your business that might not mean any major changes to your day to day work.  The main thing you need to think of now is that it is your businesses duty to think about who you might affect by the work or activities you do. This includes your workers, contractors, customers, and even visitors. And consider how the size and structure of your business may have changed over the past few years.

You do also need to engage your workers in health and safety matters and be able to demonstrate Leadership in H & S. Its not ok to say ‘ I didn’t know, they didn’t tell me’ – you need to make sure you know what is happening and ensure you are resourcing adequately.

No.  Unless you are a Director or Partner, hold a place on the Board, or are otherwise in a position which holds influence over how the business is operated, you are a Worker.  Within the companies’ operational hierarchy, you may hold a position which is senior to others or which requires you to oversee their day to day operations, but under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, you are not an Officer of the PCBU.

That said, there are collective responsibilities, and because you are not an Officer it doesn’t completely discharge you from all responsibility.  As a Worker you have an obligation to take reasonable care of your own health and safety, and make sure that your actions (or inactions) don’t create a risk or harm to anyone else. Afterall its about EVERYONE getting home safely!

As a Sole Trader, you are a PCBU.  You should already have a Health & Safety Management System for your business (doesn’t have to be an elaborate big fat manual – keep it simple!), and hopefully you already work in a safe manner. You might need to update some parts of your Health & Safety Management System (or get us to do it for you), and review the way you identify and manage risks at the place(s) you work.

If you engage any contractors to do work, then they are a PCBU too. But you both have a duty of care to each other when you’re working on the same site.

If you are a subbie on someone else’s site, you’re still a PCBU, but they are too. They might have the primary duty of care, as it is their site, but you are responsible too.  You all need to work together to minimise risks. Your Health & Safety Management System will be a little different to that of a larger company, however the principles and the law are the same.

Doing nothing is not an option.

A PCBU is a Person conducting a Business or Undertaking, and it could be the actual organisation or business. A PCBU must ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of workers, and that other persons are not put at risk by its work.  This is called the Primary Duty of Care.

It is important to know that Volunteer Associations are not PCBUs.  A Volunteer Association is a group of volunteers working together for a community purpose, where none of the volunteers, nor the association as a whole, employs anyone to carry out work for them.  Community purpose could include the promotion of art, culture, science, religion, education, medicine, or for charity, sport or recreation purposes.  Volunteer groups that only engage contractors (e.g. instead of having employees) are not classified as PCBUs.  Contractors are PCBUs in their own right.

You neeed to create a culture where it is normal and expected that everyone embraces Health, Safety and Wellbeing. What is your company culture around health and safety? Then engage your staff in the process of change. Empower them as they are the ones at the coalface and can see the risks and they may have great ideas for making changes. Help them understand that everyone is responsible for health and safety of themselves and those around them and respect that they know their jobs well.

Involving these workers in your H&S discussions or having them on the committee could help them understand why we have H&S policies.  Making these policies part of their employment contract means that any breach of those could result in disciplinary action. More importantly, no-one wants to be responsible for a colleague’s injury or death and everyone wants to get home safely.