workplace consultative arrangements

Your role in OHS workplace consultative arrangements

The Occupational Health and Safety Act 1991 (the Act) recognises that employers have the primary responsibility for providing a safe and healthy workplace, but it also recognises that employees have an important role to play.

What are your responsibilities as an employee, and what are the processes that exist to help you participate directly in the management of health and safety in your workplace?

Your responsibilities

When you are at work you have the responsibility to take reasonable care for your own health and safety as well as the health and safety of others who might be affected by your actions.

You must co-operate with your employer when they are taking action to improve health and safety or to meet their obligations under the Act. You must follow safety policies and procedures, attend OHS training, follow the advice you have been given and use safety equipment supplied by your employer.

Workplace consultative arrangements framework

The Act emphasises consultation and cooperation between employers and employees regarding OHS issues by requiring the establishment of a framework incorporating:

health and safety management arrangements (HSMAs);

designated work groups (DWGs);

health and safety representatives (HSRs); and

health and safety committees (HSCs).

HEALTH AND SAFETY MANAGEMENT ARRANGEMENTS

When your employer is developing your organisation’s health and safety management arrangements (HSMAs), you must be consulted on the proposed details. During these consultations you can seek representation by either another employee, or by an employee representative.

What are health and safety management arrangements (HSMAs)?

HSMAs are documents concerning the management of OHS in an organisation. They are one of the main ways in which your employer can demonstrate their commitment to meeting their duty of care to you, as an employee, under the Act.

Development/variation of HSMAs

In developing or varying HSMAs, an employer must consult with you or an employee representative, on your request, about the development or variation of HSMAs. As an employee you should be aware that although consultations to establish or vary DWGs form part of the consultations to develop HSMAs, they are not sufficient on their own to be considered adequate consultation for the HSMAs.

You may request another employee or an employee representative to represent you during these consultations. An employee representative means, ‘in relation to an employee, a registered organisation or an association of which the employee is a member, and is qualified to be a member of that organisation or association, by virtue of the work they do’.

For further information about employee representatives refer to OHS 67 – OHS Workplace Consultative Arrangements.

Consultation on HSMAs

Consultation arrangements to develop HSMAs must ensure that all employees are effectively represented. In order to achieve this, your employer will need to consider such factors as your organisation’s size and the location of workplaces when deciding how consultations will best be facilitated, for example:

use of ‘all staff’emails;
conducting a round of forums at all workplaces; and/or
instituting a network of temporary consultative committees which report back to a head committee.

Timelines for the consultations should allow enough time for you to arrange representation by another employee, or by an employee representative, if that is what you wish. Timelines should also allow enough time for your employee representative to apply for and receive a certificate from the CEO of Comcare.

Even though you may choose to be represented in consultations by another employee, or by an employee representative, you can still be directly involved in the consultations.

For more information see Health and Safety Management Arrangements - A guide to developing HSMAs and OHS 67 – OHS Workplace Consultative Arrangements.

DESIGNATED WORK GROUPS

You can -

request your employer establish a DWG if yourself or other employees are not included in one (you can also ask an employee representative to do this); and

ask for the DWG that you are part of, to be varied at any time (you can also ask an employee representative to do this).

What is a DWG

A DWG is a group of employees who share similar workplace health and safety concerns and conditions. Not all workplaces are the same, so the size, number and make-up of DWGs will vary.

How do you establish/vary a DWG?

You, or an employee representative, on your request, have the right to ask your employer to establish or vary a DWG at any time. Your employer must start consultations within 14 days of receiving such a request.

Your employer may also initiate a variation to the DWG, and may enter into consultation with the relevant HSR and/or your employee representative about the proposed changes.

Who should belong to the DWG?

In discussions about who should belong to the DWG, the aim is to work out the grouping which enables the best and most convenient representation of the employee’s OHS interests and provides employees in the DWG ready access to a HSR.

Lists of DWGs

Employers are required to prepare and keep up to date written lists of all DWGs which must describe the categories of employees included in each DWG. You can inspect these lists at any time.

For more information refer to OHS 67 – OHS Workplace Consultative Arrangements.

HEALTH AND SAFETY REPRESENTATIVES

You can -

nominate yourself as a candidate in the next health and safety representative (HSR) selection/election for your DWG; and

request for a health and safety representative (HSR) election to be run in a certain way (in accordance with the Safety Arrangements Regulations).

What is a HSR?

A HSR is a person from your own DWG who has been selected/elected by the group to represent you on OHS issues. HSRs have an important role to play in representing members of your DWG, including bringing issues to the attention of your employer, attempting to resolve these issues and taking information back to your DWG about health and safety. HSRs can also, after consultation, issue a provisional improvement notice (PIN) and request that Comcare investigate your workplace.

How is a HSR elected?

Once your DWG has been established, you or any other member of your DWG can stand for election as the HSR. All employees in the DWG are entitled to vote in the election. You can be involved in determining how the election will be run, for example it may be by a show of hands or a ballot.

However, you can also ask that the election be run according to the process outlined in the Safety Arrangements Regulations, if either 100 employees in the DWG or a majority of employees normally in the DWG (whichever is lesser) request for this to be done. Your employer should consult you for your input when it comes to how a HSR election should be run.

About deputy health and safety representatives (DHSRs)

A DHSR can also be selected for your DWG, however this is optional, not a mandatory requirement. DHSRs are useful for ensuring that the role of the HSR is performed in the HSRs absence. Most, but not all, provisions relating to HSRs apply to DHSRs. Your organisation’s HSMAs may include provisions relating to the roles of HSRs and DHSRs.

For more information refer to OHS 4 – Health and Safety Representatives Handbook, go to the HSR page, or refer to the Employer’s Guide on how to conduct HSR elections.

HEALTH AND SAFETY COMMITTEES

If the number of employees in your workplace is normally not less than 50, either your HSR or a majority of the employees can, by written request, ask your employer to establish a local (workplace) HSC – in addition to the HSC that already exists for your organisation.

What is a HSC?

The HSC is a formal structure which helps employers and employees discuss and resolve OHS issues in the workplace. Both employers and employees should use the HSC as a valuable OHS resource. The HSC helps the employer to develop and implement ways to protect employees from risks to their health or safety.

How are HSCs set up?

Employers must establish a HSC for their organisation where the number of employees is normally not less than 50. Further, your HSR or a majority of employees from the same workplace can request, in writing, that a local (workplace) HSC be established if that specific workplace normally has not less than 50 employees. This can be in addition to the HSC that already exists for your organisation. The arrangements for the constitution and operation of your HSC must be included in your organisation’s HSMAs.

Committee membership

While employers are primarily responsible for ensuring the workplace is safe and healthy, you can play a key role in helping your employer achieve this outcome. As a HSC member you can help develop, implement and review policies and procedures in your workplace. You can also identify the need to update these policies and procedures, particularly when new hazards in the workplace become apparent.

Your employer must consult you about membership of the committee. Members representing the employer must not out number the members representing employees. Members representing employee interests on the HSC are chosen by employees. Your HSR may be one of the members representing employees, however this is not a requirement under the Act.

Your employer has a responsibility to allow members of the HSC adequate paid time off work to perform their functions as a member of the HSC.

For more information refer to OHS 12 – Participating in effective health and safety committees.

More information

For further information, contact our OHS Helpline:

by phone on 1300 366 979
by email at ohs.help@comcare.gov.au

Page last updated:November 14, 2007