Risk Management: What employees need to know

As an employer or business owner, you are legally responsible for the health and safety of yourself and everyone who visits your place of work. This includes, workers, patients, contracted workers, students, visitors and volunteers. In the Workplace Health and Safety (WHS) Act 2011, this responsibility is referred to as your primary duty of care (see Part 2, Division 2 section 19, WHS Act 2011). As an employer conducting a business or undertaking, it is your duty to manage and eliminate risks to the health and safety of your workers so far as reasonably practicable.

Duties that employers must meet as their primary duty of care include;

• providing a safe work environment;
• ensuring safe use, handling and storage of machinery, structures and substances;
• you must make sure your facilities are well-maintained and at an acceptable standard;
• must give workers any information, training, or instruction needed for safety;
• keep an eye on the health of workers and conditions at your place of work;
• Keep an injury register and have a worker’s compensation policy and a return to work plan should an incident arise.

Division 2 section 19 (2) of the WHS Act 2011, outlines that a person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU) must ensure, so far as reasonably practicable, that the health and safety of other persons is not put at risk from work carried out as part of the duties undertaken at the place of work. Effective risk management starts with a commitment to health and safety from practice owners and managers. If an incident occurs in your practice or clinic, you need to be able to show regulators that you have used an effective risk management process. This is part of your responsibility of the WHS Act. If for some reason you have failed to fulfil your duties and obligations, you will be in breach of the Act and could be prosecuted. Some examples of when a PCBU has been negligent in the health and safety of their workers includes; when:

• An action has been taken that places a person at risk of injury, illness or death
• Steps are not taken to avoid a risky situation from occurring
• There is failure to comply with regulatory requirements

The following case study is an example of when an employer has been negligent in providing a duty of care to their workers.

In a recent case, a Queensland business owner was found guilty of an industrial manslaughter offence and sentenced to five years jail time (with 18 months imprisonment). This was the first time an individual has been prosecuted for an offence of this type under Queensland Workplace Health and Safety Laws since the offence was bought to law in 2017. This case involved a volunteer suffering fatal injuries when a generator fell from a forklift and hit him. There was evidence that the generator was too heavy for the forklift, there was a lack of safety processes and the business owner drove the forklift without a license. The main point to be taken from this case, and that is relevant to all business owners is:

• The volunteer was a worker within the business (Division 3, Subdivision 2 (6) WHS Act 2011)
• The volunteer had died in the course of carrying out work for the business; and
• The business owners conduct in causing the death was negligent

This case highlights how negligent individuals can be at risk of prosecution where there has been a serious incident at work. It also shows how important being compliant with your duties under the Act are, including having sufficient policies and procedures in place to ensure health and safety.

You can contact us via phone (07) 3872 2222 and email support workplacerelations@amaq.com.au