Covid Safety Plan and Understanding WH&S Responsibilities in the COVID-19 Pandemic

The Law

Australian Work Health and Safety Regulators have released a “Statement of Regulatory Intent: Regulatory approach to Australian Work Health and Safety Legislation COVID-19”.

This document makes clear the legal obligations for Work Health and Safety (WH&S) Regulators, Employers, Health and Safety Reps and Employees.

Below are some ADDITIONAL LEGAL SAFETY OBLIGATIONS employers should be aware of:

Employers Responsibilities

All employers must prepare and take action to protect workers and others at their workplace from the risk of exposure to COVID-19 so far as is reasonably practicable.

All employers should:

  • Have a plan in place to respond to the issues created by the pandemic;
  • Review their exposure and infection control policies and procedures, actively promote social distancing, good hand and respiratory hygiene and increase cleaning of common areas within the work environment;
  • Develop and implement safe systems of work (in consultation with workers and/or their Health and Safety Representatives (HSRs) that take into account directions and advice provided by health authorities; and
  • Keep monitoring the COVID-19 situation as it develops, relying on information from authoritative sources such as public health authorities.

Health and Safety Representatives (HSRs) Responsibilities

HSRs are encouraged to work collaboratively with employers to consult on WH&S risks and controls during this time. HSRs are entitled to monitor the rate of exposure and infection of illness or disease in the workplace and work with employers to implement appropriate controls. However, HSRs are not entitled to personal medical information of other workers without the consent of the worker.

Worker Responsibilities

Workers have obligations under WH&S laws to do what is reasonably practicable to protect themselves and others at the workplace. If a worker believes they are at risk of infection of COVID-19 and they have been at work, they should inform their manager or WH&S representative as soon as possible. If they are not satisfied with the response, they should contact their WH&S Regulator.

Note: Workers include employees, contractors, labour hire, volunteers, consultants and work experience students.

These COVID-19 safety obligations are in addition to the existing Work Health and Safety Act 2011 obligations.

 

Normal (ie. non-pandemic) Work Health and Safety Act Obligations

(Work Health and Safety Act 2011)

Division 4 Duty of officers, workers and other persons

27 Duty of officers

(5) In this section, due diligence includes taking reasonable steps—

(a) to acquire and keep up-to-date knowledge of work health and safety matters; and

(b) to gain an understanding of the nature of the operations of the business or undertaking of the person conducting the business or undertaking and generally of the hazards and risks associated with those operations; and

(c) to ensure that the person conducting the business or undertaking has available for use, and uses, appropriate resources and processes to eliminate or minimise risks to health and safety from work carried out as part of the conduct of the business or undertaking; and

(d) to ensure that the person conducting the business or undertaking has appropriate processes for receiving and considering information regarding incidents, hazards and risks and responding in a timely way to that information; and

(e) to ensure that the person conducting the business or undertaking has, and implements, processes for complying with any duty or obligation of the person conducting the business or undertaking under this Act; and

Example—

For paragraph (e), the duties or obligations under this Act of a person conducting a business or undertaking may include—

  • reporting notifiable incidents
  • consulting with workers
  • ensuring compliance with notices issued under this Act
  • ensuring the provision of training and instruction to workers about work health and safety
  • ensuring that health and safety representatives receive their entitlements to training.

(f)to verify the provision and use of the resources and processes mentioned in paragraphs (c) to (e).

28 Duties of workers

While at work, a worker must—

(a) take reasonable care for his or her own health and safety; and

(b) take reasonable care that his or her acts or omissions do not adversely affect the health and safety of other persons; and

(c) comply, so far as the worker is reasonably able, with any reasonable instruction that is given by the person conducting the business or undertaking to allow the person to comply with this Act; and

(d) co-operate with any reasonable policy or procedure of the person conducting the business or undertaking relating to health or safety at the workplace that has been notified to workers.

29 Duties of other persons at the workplace

A person at a workplace, whether or not the person has another duty under this part, must—

(a) take reasonable care for his or her own health and safety; and

(b) take reasonable care that his or her acts or omissions do not adversely affect the health and safety of other persons; and

(c) comply, so far as the person is reasonably able, with any reasonable instruction that is given by the person conducting the business or undertaking to allow the person conducting the business or undertaking to comply with this Act.

Consultation with Workers is a Legal Requirement

(Work Health and Safety Act 2011)

Division 2 Consultation with workers

47 Duty to consult workers

  • The person conducting a business or undertaking must, so far as is reasonably practicable, consult, as required under in this division and any regulation, with workers who carry out work for the business or undertaking who are, or are likely to be, directly affected by a matter relating to work health or safety.

Maximum penalty—200 penalty units.

(1 penalty unite is $133.45 current from 1 July 2019 – ie. $26,690)

(2) If the person conducting the business or undertaking and the workers have agreed to procedures for consultation, the consultation must be in accordance with those procedures.

(3) The agreed procedures must not be inconsistent with section 48.

48 Nature of consultation

(1) Consultation under this division requires—

(a)that relevant information about the matter is shared with workers; and

(b)that workers be given a reasonable opportunity—

(i)to express their views and to raise work health or safety issues in relation to the matter; and

(ii)to contribute to the decision-making process relating to the matter; and

(c)that the views of workers are taken into account by the person conducting the business or undertaking; and

(d)that the workers consulted are advised of the outcome of the consultation in a timely way.

(2) If the workers are represented by a health and safety representative, the consultation must involve that representative.

49 When consultation is required

Consultation under this division is required in relation to the following health and safety matters—

(a) when identifying hazards and assessing risks to health and safety arising from the work carried out or to be carried out by the business or undertaking;

(b) when making decisions about ways to eliminate or minimise those risks;

(c) when making decisions about the adequacy of facilities for the welfare of workers;

(d) when proposing changes that may affect the health or safety of workers;

(e) when making decisions about the procedures for—

(i) consulting with workers; or

(ii) resolving work health or safety issues at the workplace; or

(iii) monitoring the health of workers; or

(iv) monitoring the conditions at any workplace under the management or control of the person conducting the business or undertaking; or

(v) providing information and training for workers; or

(f) when carrying out any other activity prescribed under a regulation for this section.

** Remember workers include all people affected (employees, volunteers, contractors)

Covid Safe Checklists

The QLD Gov has developed a handful of industry specific Checklists (mandatory ie. Beauty Therapists & Nail Salons; Restaurants, Cafes, Pubs, Clubs, RSL clubs and Hotels) and a Voluntary checklist (below).

Business and industry resources and fact sheets

These COVID-19 resources and fact sheets for industry have been developed by Queensland Health and the Australian Department of Health:

Handy COVID-19 Information

For additional information about COVID-19, please refer to the “General COVID-19 resources (002)” document.

Industry COVID Safe Plans

Industry COVID Safe plans are developed by an industry peak body or representative group for businesses within that industry to follow.

Approved Industry COVID Safe Plans

Please find below links to COVID Safe Industry Plans that have been approved by the Queensland Chief Health Officer.

https://www.covid19.qld.gov.au/government-actions/approved-industry-covid-safe-plans

 

Pandemic Management Plan – COVID-19 / Covid Safety Plan

Attendees will be forwarded a Template Pandemic Management Plan (Safety Plan) Template developed by Solutions for Human Resources.

Please keep the copyright footer on this document, so others are aware it is under intellectual property copyright ©.

You may use this to help developing your own business specific Safety Plan.

Please respect the copywrite © as this document is provided to only attendees of this training and in association with the Bundaberg Business Enterprise Centre.

Need More Help

If you need more help please contact:

Solutions for Human Resources

Email: hellen@solutions4hr.com.au
Web: www.solutions4hr.com.au
Phone: 0429 410 991