Dear reader,

Last week I visited my local sushi hangout, and was disappointed to see my usual White Rabbit sweets, substituted for plain old Endearments. When I asked the manager, he said it was because of the recent trouble in China, where manufacturers were adding melamine to milk products. If they’re violating ethical laws, can you imagine the state of their health and safety? Talk about far-reaching consequences!

Aren’t you glad you’re receiving our bulletin? You’ll never be ignorant of health and safety and we’ll ensure you’re always within the limits of the law!

Speaking of the law…

Is it enough if you only have a verbal agreement in place for electing health and safety representatives?

Question
We recently received a visit from a Labour inspector. He stated that if we elect safety representatives, or form a safety committee, we must make a note of both in a formal agreement/policy/procedure. As a result, he has declared our existing system and the safety representative appointments we made as invalid. In my view, they are still correct. We followed the correct procedures in consultation and agreement with the Union Shop Stewards. Labour inspectors who’ve visited more recently haven’t had the same findings.

I am aware that as Afrikaans is my first language, I may not be interpreting General Admin Regulation 6 correctly. Could you let me know if the Labour inspector is correct? If he is, could you give me an idea of what should be included in such an agreement? 

Answer
You will need to draw up a document of the agreement you reached with the Union Shop Stewards. This will give you evidence to present to the Department of Labour, proving that you have an agreement in place, and that it meets the legal requirements. Section E01/009 in your Health and Safety advisor will help you draft and formally implement the agreement.

Rein in your slack Health and Safety committee members!

Question
I'm unhappy with my H&S Committee member. I know that I can’t fire him for not executing his functions (in terms of the act). But what if I’ve tried to make him attend our health and safety meetings and he doesn’t. Can the DOL inspectors prosecute me? Will I be able to reprimand my committee member at all?

Answer
1.    You need documented evidence to show the Department of Labour inspector that you have communicated the legal duties of the health and safety representative to your committee member who’s not attending the meetings.

2.    You may take disciplinary action against your health and safety representatives’ supervisor for not ‘sending’ the person to the meetings.

3.    You may take disciplinary action against your committee member. They have a legal duty to co-operate with all health and safety measures put in place by you. By signing their letter of appointment (as a member of the health and safety committee) they’ve accepted the specific duties of a representative, which includes attending the meetings. However, this will probably not be good for your company’s morale. So, I suggest that you cancel that person’s appointment as the health and safety representative for their work area and get the people of that section to elect a new representative.

4.    Your Health and Safety agreement should include the process for cancelling a Health and Safety representative’s appointment if they’re not meeting the requirements of their appointment. 

Stay safe,

Rachel Paterson
Health and Safety Advisor

P.S. It’s only 3 more days till the launch of the fantastic new business website. It’s going to be packed full of critical health and safety content, special offers on fantastic financial products and more. Don’t miss out - read your Health & Safety Bulletin on Monday 28 March!

----------------------------------------------------------------
More Health & Safety topics and recent updates...

Take a look at some of the most popular past articles:

    * Say "You're fired!" and make it stick
    * Are you ready for your annual assessment?
    * 14 leading consultants have the insider tips
    * Only 6 days until you have access to a new HSE tool...