subject: Is it Possible for Employer to Delegate Responsibility [print this page] Is it Possible for Employer to Delegate Responsibility
The organisation section of your policy should clearly say who is responsible for what. The overall responsibility for safety rests on the employer, but day-to-day responsibility can be delegated to others within the business.
In smaller businesses, it may be very easy to decide who needs to do what for the purposes of health and safety.
As businesses get larger, the organisation section of the policy may need to set out the responsibilities of staff at different levels of the hierarchy within the business.
The organisation section may include a diagram or chart showing the business structure and the responsibilities of:
* the managing director
* other managers
* supervisors or team leaders
* all employees
Construction Safety Plans
Construction safety requires skill, experience, planning, and training. No matter what type of construction you do, from putting up a building to installing a pipeline, you have to know exactly what you're doing. The wrong materials or the wrong procedures can make for tragic accidents, fines and negative publicity.
A construction safety plan can assist principal contractors to manage their workplace health and safety obligations.
A principal contractor must prepare a construction safety plan before construction work starts.
The plan must state:
* workplace address
* name and address of the principal contractor
* principal contractor's ABN
* whether there is a WHS committee
* whether there is a WHS Officer appointed
* expected start date
* estimated duration of the work
* type of construction
* plant provided for common use
* site rules
* the risks the principal contractor is obliged to manage
* proposed control measures for the risks
* how the controls will be implemented
* arrangements for monitoring and reviewing controls
* emergency procedures
* public safety strategies
The plan must be written so it is easy to understand, signed and dated by the principal contractor. It must be available for the length of the project.
Legal Obligations to Provide Health and Safety Policy
The obligation to provide a health and safety policy originally arises under section 2(3) of the HSWA. In cases of flagrant disregard, enforcement officers may issue improvement notices which if contravened lead to the ultimate potential sanctions of criminal penalties, including large fines and imprisonment.
Inspectors from the local authority Environmental Health Department, or HSE are responsible for enforcing health and safety law, and organisations can be prosecuted for breaches. All workplaces must be registered with either of these two bodies. Employees can report any breaches of the legislation or seek advice from them.
