OHS Consultation
Section 13 of the NSW OHS Act 2000 requires an employer to consult with employees on any matter which may affect their health and safety.
Effective consultation can result in:
- Improved management decisions through gathering a wider source of ideas about OHS
- Greater employee commitment to OHS through better understanding of OHS decisions and employee ownership of the outcome of the consultation
- Greater openness, respect and trust between management and employees through developing an understanding of each others point of view.
- Higher employee morale and job satisfaction through the employer demonstrating that the employee’s views are valued and taken into account
- Healthier working environments and increased productivity
Consultation is required to be undertaken when proposing:
- New equipment
- New chemicals
- Changes to premises
- Changes to work processes or systems of work
- Changes to facilities provided for employee welfare
- When undertaking or reviewing a risk assessment or risk control measures.
Generally consultation should occur with the staff directly affected by the changes/risks e.g. carers for a particular client.
How consultation should occur
The Act also proposes a number of options for how consultation can be undertaken (sec 16 and 17) on a more formal basis. It requires the adoption of one or a combination of the following options:
- The establishment of one or more OHS Committees where there are 20 or more employees and the majority of those employees request the establishment of the committee or if WorkCover directs that a committee be established.
- The election of one or more employee representatives where at least one employee of the organisation requests the election of an employee representative.
- Other agreed arrangements agreed to be the employer and employees. Other agreed arrangements are often most effective for smaller employers and involve direct consultation say through staff meetings and thus ensure the fuller integration of OHS into how the organisation operates.
The employer may choose to establish an OHS Committee or elect an OHS Representative even if not requested by the employees but the employer must consult with employees about the preferred strategy. Considerations when deciding on the consultation strategy include:
- The size and structure of the provider
- The number of remote and part-time workers
- The ability of employee representatives to be able to communicate with the employees they represent.
Consider which arrangement is more likely to contribute to safe systems of work and promote a cooperative, focused and systematic approach to managing OHS issues. It may be necessary to have consultation locally through staff meetings for client specific risks and then an OHS Committee or Representative to address policy/procedural issues. Ensure a record of consultation is kept e.g. agenda for staff meetings recording item discussed and attendance or sign-off of risk assessments.
The arrangement must provide for the sharing of relevant information that has health and safety implications, provide opportunities for all employees to express their views about health and safety issues, ensure that views are considered and taken into account prior to decisions being made.
Consultation Statement
The employer is required by the regulation to record and publicise the consultation arrangements with new and existing employees and this is generally achieved through the Consultation Statement. The consultation statement should include details of:
- The consultation strategy adopted
- How the strategy was adopted e.g. a meeting of all employees etc
- How employees will be consulted
- The role of the OHS Committee or OHS Representative if adopted
- A procedure to resolve OHS issues when and if they arise
- When and how the consultation strategy will be reviewed to ensure that it is meaningful and effective.
OHS Committee
If an OHS Committee is to be established the following points should be noted:
- Elections should be held using standard agreed electoral processes e.g. secret ballot
- Term of office for elected representatives is 2 years
- All members should attend accredited training preferably within 3 months of election/nomination.
- The employer representatives must not outnumber the employee representatives
- The number of employee representatives should be based on the identified workgroups and ease of communication e.g. geographical locations, type of work and associated hazards
- The committee chairperson should be an employee representative
- The employer representative must have the authority to act on the issues raised and must be able to contribute to the work of the committee and be empathetic to the employee’s viewpoints.
- Meetings should be minuted and the minutes made available to all staff e.g. on intranet or noticeboard.
Consultation Procedures
Consultation procedures for OHS Representative or other agreed arrangements should be agreed to through consultation and documented e.g. OHS Representative to email issues to CEO and receive response within 48 hours and to email response to concerned employees. The OHS Representative must attend accredited training but there is no training requirement for those involved in other agreed arrangements and needs to be determined in consultation with involved staff.
The OHS Committee and OHS Representative should not be involved in resolving specific OHS issues unless they cannot be resolved by local management and should be focusing on deficiencies etc in the OHS Management System which need to be addressed. See the Act and Regulation or the OHS Consultation Code of Practice for the specific functions of the OHS Committee and OHS Representatives.
To ensure that the OHS Representative and/or Committee do not get involved in management of day to day OHS issues an issue resolution procedure should be implemented. A sample procedure and flowchart are provided. Where there is a committee or rep referral of the issue to them should be made in conjunction with referral to more senior management.
REFERENCES:
Consultaiton Code of Practice WorkCover NSW
