Health and Safety Duties Of Employer
Health and Safety in the workplace is a duty of the employer.
What must the employer do to ensure that the work environment is safe and without risk to the health of his or her workers?
The employer must provide and maintain all the equipment that is necessary to do the work, and all the systems according to which work must be done, in a condition that will not affect the Health and Safety of workers.
Before personal protective equipment may be used, the employer must first try to remove or reduce any danger to the health and safety of his workers. Only when this is not practicable, should personal protective equipment be used.
The employer must take measures to protect his or her workers’ Health and Safety against hazards that may result from the production, processing, use, handling, storage or transportation of articles or substances, in other words, anything that workers may come into contact with at work.
To ensure that these Health and Safety duties are complied with, the employer must:
- Identify potential hazards and risks which may be present while work is being done, something is being produced, processed, used, stored or transported, and any equipment is being used,
- Establish the precautionary measures that are necessary to protect his or her workers against the identified hazards and provide the means to implement these precautionary measures,
- Provide the necessary information, instructions, training and supervision while keeping the extent of workers’ competence in mind. In other words, what they may do and may not do,
- Not permit anyone to carry on with any task unless the necessary precautionary measures have been taken,
- Take steps to ensure that every person under his or her control complies with the requirements of the Act.
- Enforce the necessary control measures in the interest of Health and Safety,
- See to it that the work being done and the equipment used, is under the general supervision of a worker who has been trained to understand the hazards associated with the work,
- Such a worker must ensure that the precautionary measures are implemented and maintained.
What’s next?
In the last section of this guide, the functions and role of Health and Safety representatives and committees are clarified.
You can also visit:
- Health and Safety in South Africa – An online resource.
- SHEQAfrica.com – Occupational Safety, Health, Environmental and Quality information
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