Health And Safety Committee
Effective Health and Safety Committees Part I – How to get more from your committee.
What is the purpose of a Health and Safety committee?
Members meet in order to initiate, promote, maintain and review measures of ensuring the Health and Safety of workers.
When must Health and Safety committees be established?
At least one committee must be established when two or more representatives are designated.
How many members on a Health and Safety committee?
The employer determines the number of committee members, based on the following:
If only one committee has been established for a workplace, all the representatives must be members of that committee.
If two or more committees have been established for a workplace, each representative must be a member of at least one of those committees.
Therefore, every representative must be a member of a committee. The employer may also nominate other persons to represent him or her on a committee but such nominees may not be more than the number of representatives designated on that committee.
If, however, an inspector is of the opinion that the number of committees in a workplace is inadequate, he or she may determine the establishment of additional committees.
How often does a Health and Safety committee meet?
They meet whenever it is necessary, but at least once every three months. The committee determines the time and place. However, if 10% or more of the workers put a request for a meeting to the inspector, the inspector may order that such a meeting be held at a time and place which he or she determines.
Who determines the procedure at the meeting?
The members of the committee elect the chairperson and determine his or her period of office, meeting procedures, etc.
May Health and Safety committees consult experts for advice?
Yes, committees may co-opt persons as advisory members for their knowledge and expertise on Health and Safety matters. However, an advisory member does not have the right to vote.
What do Health and Safety committees do?
The committees only deal with Health and Safety matters at the workplace or sections thereof for which such committees have been established. Generally, Health and Safety committees have the following functions:
- Make recommendations – A committee must make recommendations to the employer abut the Health and Safety of workers. Where these recommendations do not lead to solving the matter, the committee may make recommendations to an inspector.
- Discuss incidents – A committee must discuss any incident that leads to the injury, illness, or death of any worker and may report about it in writing to the inspector.
- Record-keeping – A committee must keep record of every recommendation to the employer and every report to an inspector.
- Other functions – Committee members must perform any other functions required of them by regulation.
Resources
- Health and Safety – A resource for everything that relates to Health and Safety in South Africa.
- SHEQAfrica – Sharing Occupational Safety, Health, Environmental and Quality knowledge.
- Effective Health and Safety Committees Part I – How to get more from your committee.
- Health and Safety Legal Compliance
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