Your 1527 Health and Safety duties as an employer

Don’t ignore your health and safety obligations. You could face a R100 000 fine or a two year jail sentence, or both.

As an employer, by law you have to maintain a safe and healthy working environment.

This includes: 

• Identify hazards. There are over 1 500 items you must evaluate in your workplace, according to the
• OHS Act, and hundreds more from SABS 0400: National Building regulations.
• Remove hazards. Which hazards must be removed and which ones can stay unchanged? We give you quick, easy guidelines to use.
• Reduce hazards that can’t be removed. The easiest way to handle this is to have written policies and procedures. We’ll give you the written policies and procedures to comply with occupational health and safety legislation.
• Manage hazards. You must regularly review your policies and procedures. Are your employees able to protect themselves from hazards? Are they complying with safety procedures? Are you doing regular inspections? We’ll give you samples of all the forms you need.
• Make sure you keep records. This could be the only defence you have against an inspection by the Department of Labour. We’ll make record keeping easy for you. Use our checklist to ensure you’re keeping records for everything you’re supposed to. We’ll make sure you manage your hazards 100% by the book.

3 Tips to get your employees to comply with health and safety laws

88% of all accidents are caused by unsafe acts of workers. Make your employees comply with health and safety laws. 

Tip #1: Include a health and safety clause in all contracts of employment. Include a clause in your employees’ contracts of employment stating that “failure to adhere to health and safety regulations may lead to disciplinary action and/or possible dismissal”.  This rule must be applied consistently and continuously to build a culture of safety awareness and ensure that workers can’t claim they’re being singled out for punishment.  

Tip #2: Your employees can be fined R50 000. If the Department of Labour does an inspection of your workplace and your employee is found guilty of negligence or wilful misconduct, he could be fined.  The maximum penalty for non-compliance is R50 000 or 1 year in jail – or both! Use the safety test in the Health & Safety Advisor to help your employees understand their health and safety obligations. 

Tip #3: Stop employees damaging safety equipment.  In terms of the OHS, it’s an offence to intentionally or recklessly misuse or damage any safety equipment. Ensure that this rule is known and enforced. You can take disciplinary action in cases of abuse.

Giant health and safety mistakes that 2 out of 3 companies make every year

Dear Reader 

Do you make these mistakes? 

• You think because you trained your employees, they are following your health and safety procedures… 88% of accidents are caused by unsafe acts of workers.
• You’re safe from prosecution because the Department of Labour doesn’t check compliance with the OHS Act… 10 949 notices were served for contraventions in health and safety requirements during 2006/7 - 1230 companies had to stop production.
• Productivity is more important than health and safety. The insured cost to uninsured cost ratio is R1: R53 per incident. How much profit do you need to make to absorb an uninsured incident cost of R53 million? 

If you think health and safety isn’t important in your company, think again. The Department of Labour is clamping down and doing more workplace inspections. Are you sure your company would pass a health and safety inspection? 

Are you prepared to have your company shut down for non-compliance? 

I have a solution to all of your health and safety problems. It’s not going to confuse you, give you legal jargon or thousands of pages of small text. It’s going to give you straight forward actionable advice to solve all of your health and safety worries. 

Here’s the solution to your health and safety problems. The new Health & Safety Advisor will help you:  

• Recognise safety hazards without leaving your desk
• Implement effective safety procedures and regulations
• Prevent accidents before they happen
• Make sure you pass your health and safety inspection with flying colours
• Plus, save you thousands, maybe millions, of rands.

We’ve done all the hard work for you. By following our step-by-step instructions, relevant checklists, sample forms, handy tips and suggestions you can be rest assured you’re 100% health and safety compliant. 

Order the Health & Safety Advisor today,

and I’ll send it to you to review for free, for 14 days. What could be more fair? You pay nothing upfront. Simply complete the order form and I’ll have the book couriered to you.  

Take 14 days to read through the handbook. If, after 14 days you decide it’s not for you, you can send it back to us and we’ll forget about the bill!  

Yours Sincerely  

 

 

Christel Fouché
Editor-in-chief

PS: If you order I’ll also send you a free health and safety newsletter, plus a CD containing the Essential Health & Safety Toolkit and copies of the OHS and COID Act's.

Are you ready for your Health and Safety inspection?

“…59 of the 77 visited workplaces are not complying (with health and safety laws), prompting law-enforcement officials to recommend prosecution against at least one employer, the Department of Labour said” 2 November 2007 

“…655 employers in the iron and steel sector were inspected for health and safety compliance. An alarming 489 (75%) were found not to be complying with the law” 12 November 2007 

“In the Northern Cape, 31 out of 45 sites were given notices, in Limpopo 16 employers were given notices. In Pretoria, 12 contravention notices were handed out” 23 August 2007 

“Results show only 34% of companies or sites visited in the Western Cape complied with the Occupational Health and Safety Act” 3 September 2007 

Think you’ll never get a visit from the Department of Labour?
Think again…

During 2006/7:
• 1 230 prohibition notices stopped workplace operations due to imminent health and safety risks.
• A further 10 949 notices were served for contraventions in health and safety requirements where employers were given 60 days to get their house in order.
• Inspectors visited 29 161 employers – that’s 111 inspections every working day!
Do you know?
• How to survive an OHS inspection?
• The different types of inspections?
• The rights of inspectors
• What your company rights are?
• What inspection forms look like?
• What penalties/fines can be imposed on your business for noncompliance?
• What inspectors will check when they visit your workplace?

Quick Tip
A health and safety inspector is visiting your workplace. If they seize or remove an article or substance from your workplace, they MUST issue you with a receipt. 

You can appeal against Health and Safety inspector decisions
Make sure you lodge your appeal within 60 days after the inspectors make their decision. Would you like to know the answers or have more useful tips like these? You can find them in Health & Safety Advisor. Including a 50 point checklist of what inspectors will check at your workplace. Order your copy today for a free 14 day trial.

Many employers only see health and safety as a piece of legislation that’s not as important as the Labour Relations Act and Basic Conditions of Employment Act. But your obligations are just as binding. You may not end up at the CCMA but you could end up in jail, with a criminal record or have an employee die because of your negligence! 

The one health and safety tip that could save your company thousands this year

You know it’s a legal requirement to implement health and safety in your business, but it’s going to cost you a couple of thousand, maybe even a hundred thousand rand to do it. 

That’s a huge expense. One you think isn’t necessary, but what if your company gets shut down tomorrow and it costs you R954 000 – would it be worth it then? 

One health and safety mistake could cost you more than R954 000 

If one of your employees burns herself badly, medical and compensation costs will see you paying R6 000! That doesn’t sound too bad. Now times that by R53. It actually cost you R318 000!! 

For every R1 you spend on insured costs, it could cost you up to R53 in uninsured costs. 

You also have to consider:

•  Damage to company property
•  Tool and equipment damage
•  Product and material damage
•  Production delays and interruptions
•  Environmental damage
•  Training and paying for a replacement worker
•  Overtime pay for regular employees who have to pick up the slack
•  Increased contributions to workers compensation
•  Lost working hours after an accident occurs
•  Work stoppage due to hazardous conditions
•  Medical bills
•  Incident investigation cost 

Imagine you have three injured employees. If you had implemented health and safety, you’d have saved more than R950 000!! 

Health & Safety Advisor will show you how to:

•  Identify workplace hazards
•  Prevent accidents and manage risks
•  Develop a Health and Safety policy
•  Avoid a R100 000 fine. Make sure your CEO fulfils his health and safety obligations 

Make sure you investigate incidents within these time periods.

There’s a time limit within which you must investigate incidents. Use this handy table to make sure you comply with the OHS Act.

What our readers have to say:

These are extracts from letters we’ve received from readers of our practical handbooks:

“Brilliant. Without it I would have cost the company a lot of money”
  J. Tomlinson 

"This is the best reading material on the market"
J. Pelzer 

"The best thing at my fingertips, never want to work without it next to me"
G. Zimri 

"The Handbook is practical, well set out and with relevant tips and examples"
S. Strang 

"It's the best book to have—can't live without it."
T. Phatlane 

"It is essential to any business, and the bonus is it is written in a way that is easy to understand and relates to your business' day to day tasks"
A.J. Laws 

"Absolutely essential. User friendly. Very comprehensive."
G. De Kock 

"Best investment I ever made. Informative, up to date, good guidelines"
MGS Lolat 

"Thanks a million for a wonderful service and publication"
F. Kirsten 

“We seem to have been able to avoid sticky situations with a positive attitude and your good information!”
N. Stobaus 

“Everything you need to know in the “jungle” out there”
T. Ainslie 

“Very useful, saves many errors”
N. Waldon 

“The most useful tool to have in your business. Thank you!”
H. Ridlett 

7 reasons why you need the Health & Safety Advisor handbook and take advantage of our free 14-day trial period

1. You’ll meet every health and safety law requirement and avoid hefty fines! Don’t get caught by the Department of Labour not complying with health and safety laws. Use the Health & Safety Advisor handbook to make sure you comply with every legal requirement. Each section includes practical, actionable advice written in plain English with no legalese. Each topic is discussed in detail and has step-by step instructions, checklists, sample documents and templates and many immediately understandable examples. 

2. Save time by having the answers at your fingertips. You can make use of our health and safety expertise whenever you need it. It’s always at your disposal – simply lying on your desk. Don’t look for a solution yourself or risk making an expensive error – use the Health & Safety Advisor handbook. Use our expert’s knowledge to easily look up your problem and find a step-by-step solution, checklist, letter or template to solve your health and safety issue. 

3. The Draft National Health and Safety Bill is out – but we’ll keep you up to date. The Health & Safety Advisor handbook is constantly monitored and updated. Instead of buying a new book every time legislation changes, you’ll receive updates on a regular basis when any new health and safety amendments happen. You can be sure that – thanks to this handbook – you won’t be surprised by any new health and safety regulation and your book will always be 100% up to date. All in the most cost-effective and easy way possible! 

4. Our experts will answer your health and safety questions. If you’ve subscribed to the Health & Safety Advisor handbook, and have a question you can’t answer, send your questions to our experts. Simply email us your question and we’ll send you an answer within 72 hours.  

5. Keep up to date with the free health and safety tip. Every Tuesday we’ll email you the Health & Safety Bulletin. This email newsletter is part of your handbook and will give you tips, tools and strategies you can use to keep on top of health and safety in your workplace. 

6. You risk nothing —Try Health & Safety Advisor without spending a cent. You can use the Health & Safety Advisor handbook, free for 14 days. After these 14 days, you can continue using it by simply paying the invoice sent with the handbook. Or, you can return it to us and we’ll forget about the bill.  Simply order your copy

.

7. Receive these 2 extra gifts on cd:

• Essential Health & Safety Toolkit: 73 Sample letters, forms, procedures, checklists, and meeting agendas.
• Copies of the OHS and COID Act, including regulations so you can look up any legal jargon.

What’s included in Health & Safety Advisor?

Here is a sample of what you will find in your handbook:

•  Control measures you must put in place to prevent accidents
•  Accidents or incidents—step by step what you must do next
•  How to calculate how much compensation to pay—Must you pay any at all?
•  Reporting incidents/ accidents/ and near incidents: the different procedures.
•  How should you secure an area after an accident?
•  How do you claim from the workers compensation fund? Can everyone claim?
•  How to deal with absenteeism because of excessive sick leave
•  Medical checkups for employees: when, who, how often, documents you need.
•  257 Point checklist to ensure you comply with all the Construction Regulations
•  15 Strategies to get employees to bring a safety attitude to work
•  Risk assessment worksheets to make sure you’ve included everything
•  How to do risk assessment inspections
•  Ten-point checklist for emergency preparedness
•  Checklist: Health and safety requirements in the workplace
•  16 Safety signs you must display in your workplace
•  How to conduct a compliance health and safety audit
•  How to develop a Health and Safety policy
•  How to monitor and evaluate your health and safety programme
•  11 Legal duties of the employer
•  Health and safety representatives: responsibilities and duties
•  Duties of manufacturers and suppliers
•  Employees responsibilities: they have obligations as well
•  41 Sample nomination and appointment forms
•  OHS checklists and registers
•  And much more… 

About our experts

Meet the health and safety experts who contribute to Health & Safety Advisor

Christel Fouché: Editor-in-chief
Christel is managing director of Advantage A.C.T. (Pty) Ltd and has been involved in this specialised industry for over 20 years, assisting with issues of health and safety in industry and mining. She completed her MBA in health and safety through the University of Southern Queensland, is an accredited trainer (1104 and 1105) with City & Guilds. She also received her International Certificate in Training with merit.  She’s a qualified and accredited facilitator and assessor with the ET&DP SETA. She’s also a Lead Auditor in Health & Safety, Environment & Quality (SAATCA Lead Auditor for ISO14001 and OHSAS18001). She is a Lead Tutor for Moody International/IRCA on the ISO and OHSAS standards (ISO9001, ISO14001, OHSAS18001 and ISO27001) and is the chair of the SAATCA OHSAS18001 Scheme committee

Wilna Louw-Malan (B. Cur, OH, ROSProf, F.IoSM, SAATCA HSE 002)
Wilna is the General Manager of Edwilo Risk Consultants, a health safety and environmental consultancy business. She is a registered Occupational Safety Professional, Assessor for OSHAP PDB, Deputy President of the Institute of Safety Management, and a registered HSE Systems Auditor. 

Ray Strydom
Ray is currently a SHE Risk Management Consultant (specialising in construction) and administrator for six professional OHS bodies. He owns his own safety consultancy, is Executive Director of Safety First Association and a Fellow Member of the Institute of Safety Management (IoSM).

Richard Swift
Richard joined his father in the field of occupational health and safety eleven years ago. Within a few years, he had achieved a +95% average for risk management at three of his client's operations, culminating in receiving an internal award of "best of the best" for the highest score within the group of companies. 

Eric Swift
Eric has over 35 years experience in the field of occupational health and safety. He started a health and safety consultancy fourteen years ago and uses his experience to advise clients on the best way to achieve legal compliance. 

Nell Browne
A registered Occupational Health Practitioner, with 20 years experience in the occupational health and safety field. She has a Certificate in Medicine and Law (Cum Laude) and is registered with SAATCA as an OHSAS 18001 Senior auditor. She is registered with the ETDP SETA as a facilitator, assessor and moderator and regularly designs and presents OHS training. 

Hayleth Gunter
Hayleth is a Health and Safety and Risk Management Consultant with 25 years experience in the Risk Control field. He was previously the Regional Manager in the Johannesburg region for the National Occupational Safety Association (NOSA). Since 1989 he has provided a consulting service to industry locally and internationally, assisting companies to implement the requirements of current Health and Safety Legislation. 

Sven Marcus
Sven is an Occupational Health Nurse Practitioner with over 19 years health care experience. She has years experience in the occupational health industry, where she manages Wellness clinics for various companies. 

Stephanie Kruger
Stephanie is a registered occupational nurse practitioner, and started Soul Sister. Her aim is to integrate complementary health with allopathic medicine, by providing holistic care to the patient within the workplace, and assisting them in their own healing process. 

Anita De Wet
Anita has 16 years industry experience and is passionate about behavioural training. She is an affiliate of BST® (Behavioural Science Technologies), and is involved with the UNISA team busy compiling a curriculum for Behavioural Science. 

Michele Bowmer
Michele is a registered Occupational Safety Professional (ROSProF), and a branch manager for IRCA Coastal. She regularly conducts training for companies in Port Elizabeth, Mossel Bay and Saldanha Bay.Michele is a registered Occupational Safety Professional (ROSProF), and a branch manager for IRCA Coastal. She regularly conducts training for companies in Port Elizabeth, Mossel Bay and Saldanha Bay.
 
Dr André Louw (M.B., CH. B., M. Fam. Med, D.O.H., M.B.A.)
Dr Louw is the managing director of LMM Occupational Health Inc., an occupational health consulting and service delivery entity. His main interests include designing and implementing occupational health risk management plans, designing and rolling out strategic HIV response programmes in industry and the management of disability in the workplace.

Carine van Onselen
Carine is currently an advocate in the Pretoria High Court. She has held positions as both a Group compliance Manager and SHEQ legal consultant and trainer.
 

We’ll answer all of your health and safety questions 

If you have a problem and can’t find an answer in Health & Safety Advisor, simply send us an email. We’ll make sure one of our experts give you an answer. 

Question: I’ve spent a lot of money in the last year providing my employees with hard hats. They keep losing them and I suspect that the hats are being sold. Can I charge them for the cost of replacing the lost hard hats? 

Answer: You are allowed to recover the cost of lost or damaged safety equipment if, after a proper investigation that includes giving the employees a reasonable opportunity to state their case, it is found that they are responsible for the loss or damage. The deductions may not exceed a quarter of the employee’s wage/salary (Section 34 (2) (d), Basic Conditions of Employment Act 75 of 1997). 

Question: My workers are complaining that their clothes get wet when they have to make deliveries on rainy days. Surely the employees must provide their own raincoats?

Answer: It’s your duty to provide employees with protective clothing if they are regularly required to work in the rain or other extremes of weather. You must balance the cost of providing the clothing against the possible drop in production that may result from colds and other infections 

Health and Safety Tips

Save thousands by using just one clause in your Labour Broker agreements 

If you use workers supplied by a labour broker, they are seen as an employee under the OHS Act and you have to meet all of the health and safety obligations. Make sure you include an indemnity against health and safety in your agreements. 

In Health & Safety Advisor we give you the sample indemnity clause to include in all of your agreements. 

An employee points a gun at another employee – what do you do? 

If this happens in your company today, would you know what safety procedure to follow? Do you evacuate the office or not? What else must you do? 

Fire, violence, chemical spills, riots… an emergency reference guide should be developed for every possible emergency situation, so there will be no doubt in anyone’s mind what should be done. There are three simple questions to answer, making every emergency situation a cinch. No casualties, no stress! 

EVERY incident and injury must be reported

No matter how big or small the incident/injury or accident is, it must be reported. Make it every supervisor and managers responsibility. It doesn’t have to be a stressful experience. 

Use our Incident/Injury Report Form to make sure ALL the details are reported and recorded. It also includes an Investigation Checklist to complete with each person involved in the accident. 

Stop your employees smoking – it could save you R50 000 

Amendments to the Tobacco Control Act were passed by parliament on 21st August 2009. If you expose employees to smoking, you could be fined R50 000! 

We’ll keep you updated with regular updates to the Health & Safety Advisor to make sure you comply with all health and safety laws.  
 

Record keeping: which OHS records must you keep? 

Are your OHS records up to date? You must keep all records for a minimum of three years. Noise, hearing and asbestos records must be kept for 30 years. Minutes of all health and safety meetings must be kept for three years.

In Health & Safety Advisor we’ll make sure you know which records you must keep and for how long. Plus, handy checklists to make sure your current records comply with legal requirements. 

The essential Health and Safety Toolkit you can’t be without!
 

Included with your Health & Safety Advisor is the Health & Safety Toolkit and copies of the OHS and COID Act's, including regulations. 

With the Health & Safety Toolkit you’ll have 73 sample letters, forms, procedures, checklists and meeting agendas at your finger tips. 

31 Checklists

Use these to ensure:

•  Your construction site meets all the construction regulations.
•  The DoL checklists: now you’ll know what they check before they arrive at your door.
•  Your Health and Safety Representatives are thoroughly checking your workplace for hazards. 

12 questionnaires, forms and agendas

Use the Health and Safety Committee Agenda, nomination and election forms, occupational health questionnaire, Safety test, Contractor Site Audit Sheet and other forms to make sure your templates and forms are 100% correct. 

30 Appointment letters, contracts and agreements  

From appointment letters for Health and Safety Officers, Site Managers, Health and Safety committee Chairperson to reporting incidents and a Personal Protective Equipment acknowledgement form, make sure your appointment letters are watertight. 

Copies of the OHS and COID Act's, including 22 regulations 

How to cut your health and safety training bill by 80%

Are health and safety training courses too expensive? 

Here’s an easy solution to all of your health and safety training costs. 

Training courses cost between R1 000-R3 000 per day. If you send 15 supervisors on a 2-day training course that’s R80 000 – and will they really remember everything they’ve learnt? 

With the Health & Safety Advisor they could have their own safety consultant on their bookshelf. It’s not like any other book available. It’s not just a summary of the Act or full of legal jargon that only lawyers understand. 

This is written in simple terms, with easy checklists and actionable advice. Next time there’s an accident in the workplace; your supervisor can quickly turn to the correct chapter and see exactly what he should do to comply with health and safety laws. 

Having employees who understand health and safety will: 

•  Reduce absenteeism
•  Reduce your staff turnover costs
•  Decrease your healthcare costs
•  Reduce your insurance premiums and compensation claims
•  Decrease accidents
•  Improve productivity 

Don’t take our word for it – order a copy of the Health & Safety Advisor and see for yourself how easy it is to understand. We’ll even offer you a 10% discount if you order more than 5 copies.

Do you have contractors working at your offices? –

Do you know what your health and safety obligations are?

If you have contractors working on your premises, you’re liable for their health and safety. 

What if the contractors injure one of your employees? Or one of the contractors’ employees falls off a ladder and has to be taken to hospital? Do you know how to make sure you’re not liable? 

It could cost you thousands in compensation. If the contractor isn’t registered with the compensation commissioner, you, the employer will be liable for the cost of accident, including medical costs, rehabilitation and 75% of the employee’s wages. 

To cover yourself you should have a Section 37(2) agreement with every contractor. Make sure the agreement states that the contractor will comply with all health and safety laws and company safety rules. And insist on a letter of good standing from the compensation commissioner as proof that the contractor is registered. 

In Health & Safety Advisor we give you all the information you need to deal with contractors. It includes a sample contractor agreement and actionable advice to make sure you’re not liable for their actions. 

We also include a handy checklist to assess your current situation, plus quick tips to ensure compliance. 

Do you comply with the 257 construction industry regulations?

Nearly every month there is a health and safety fatality in the construction industry. This industry is one of the most closely monitored by the Department of Labour. If you haven’t had a visit from an inspector yet, you will soon. 

Check if you have done ALL of these things: 

•  Do you have Health and Safety specifications and plans for your constructions sites?
•  Have you conducted a risk assessment before and during commencement of construction work?
•  Have you notified the Department of Labour of the construction work?
•  Can you prove that you gave each employee safety induction training?
•  Are all your employees working in elevated positions in possession of a medical fitness certificate?
•  Is your construction site fenced off to prevent unauthorised access?
•  Do you have a safety file on site with all the relevant documentation?
•  Do you inspect formwork and support work structures immediately before, during and after the placement of concrete and thereafter daily until the structure is removed?
•  Have you done a fall protection plan for your site?
•  Do you have an emergency evacuation plan for your site?
•  Have you appointed a stacking and storage supervisor? 

In doubt? This is only a small part of what you should be doing to comply with construction regulations. Health & Safety Advisor includes the construction regulations to make sure you’ve done everything you need to comply. Use our 257 point checklist, sample documents, templates and actionable advice to make sure you comply. Order your copy of Health & Safety Advisor today for a free 14 day trial.