Setting up a Health Safety Committee
Do I really need a health safety committee?
A health safety committee is an easy way for an employer to consult with employees about safety in the workplace. The Work, Health Safety Act 2011 does require you as an employer to consult with your employees about safety. If you don’t have a health safety committee, how else are you going to consult with employees about safety?
A health safety committee (‘HSC’) aims to ensure that workers' views are heard on all work, health and safety matters. The purpose of a health safety committee is to provide a forum for management and workers together to identify and resolve health and safety problems, and to develop and monitor safe systems and procedures.
In fact, if you are a business owner and you receive a request from a health safety representative to set up a health safety committee, you are required to do so within two (2) months. Also, if five (5) or more workers approach you, it’s the same deal – you will be required to set up a health safety committee.
Instead of viewing this as a drain on your business operating hours it’s time to turn the corner and get on board by understanding that safe workplaces are efficient, have less downtime, higher production outputs and happier employees. No one likes working in an unsafe work environment and any employee that I speak with, wants to return home after each shift to their family in safe manner.
Where to start? What to do?
Here are a few basic things that you can do to get your Health Safety Committee ball rolling.
Advertise for Nominations:
It’s important that in setting up an HSC that you ask for nominations from the workforce. You’ll need to advertise internally amongst employees and ask for volunteers. The advertising process and all nominations must be recorded in your minutes at your first HSC meeting. So draft up an advertisement, attach it to your payslips, put it on the company Facebook, add it to the company WhatsUp app, distribute an all employee memo or however you communicate to all employees.
Get it out there and see who volunteers!Composition of the HSC:
There are requirements for you to ensure that the composition of the HSC is made of a certain ratio of employees to management. Your HSC constitution should outline this in some detail.
The HSC cannot be run or overrun by management.
One of the key objectives of an HSC is to involve, consult and collaborate on safety in the workplace with the employees. Often, it’s the employees that know what is happening at the coal face of the operation, who demonstrates unsafe behaviours, why injuries or incidences are occurring and how they can be prevented.Develop and Institute a Constitution:
An HSC constitution will set the terms and conditions of your meetings. You’ll need one of these to ensure that you outline the purpose, the roles and responsibilities and procedures involved in the committee.
The constitution is about setting fair terms for the committee that are transparent within your organisation. It means a committee cannot be a sham and simply directed by management. Even your local sports teams have a constitution so it isn’t an outlandish requirement for the workplace.Meet:
At your first meeting you need to welcome your members, go through the constitution and agree to its inception. From here it’s about explaining the role of the HSC and the value that can be added to the business through a safe and healthy work environment.
The thing to remember is that any HSC member doesn’t have to be an expert in safety.
They just need to be willing and passionate about improving the workplace from a safety point of view.
I say often that ‘employees are your best business asset’, and when it comes to safety, hands down, it is true.
They really are the ones that often can solve some of your safety challenges.
Call us now on 0411 254 865 or email for an appointment at ahendy@hendyhr.com.au