The need for health and safety at workplaces worldwide cannot be understated. Many jurisdictions across the world have made it mandatory for all employers to provide their employees with healthy working environments free of all kinds of risks. Where such risks cannot be eliminated, employers are obligated to institute necessary measures including training of workers on the same. This is the case in New Zealand where appropriate legislations have been enacted to ensure that employers carry out what is required of them.
All of New Zealand’s safety legislations are contained in the Health and Safety in Employment (HSE) legislation, an act of parliament enacted in 1992. The Health and Safety Legislation supports various principles including placing the primary responsibility of providing healthy and safe working environment on employers. The act also recognizes the fact that workers too have a role to play in enhancing their own safety at their workplaces. The act encourages the need for a close working relationship between both employers and employers to bring the two sets of responsibilities together for the realization of intended goals.
Unlike most workplace legislations in other countries, the New Zealand’s Health and Safety Legislation does not impose specific requirements on both employers and employees. Instead, the act requires every employer to engage his/her employees in designing a systematic and flexible health and safety measures applicable in their workplaces. Such however must be in line with the provisions of the act, codes of practice and best practice guidelines. In this regard, all employers are required to set in motion mechanisms of designing appropriate health and safety programs by incorporating the input of their employees and professional with the expertise in their respective businesses.
In order to enhance health and safety of employees, the New Zealand’s Health and Safety Legislation (Act) was subjected to amendments in 2002. The amendments extended its jurisdiction to cover employees working aboard ships and aircrafts. The amendments also introduced clauses covering employees seconded by one employer to another and volunteer employees. More importantly, the amendments placed other health and safety responsibilities on equipment manufacturers and sellers.
Although New Zealand’s Health and Safety Legislation apportions some health and safety responsibilities on employees, employers bear the greatest responsibilities. To ensure that their workplaces are healthy and safe, they are required to identify and systematically manage the identified risks by eliminating or minimizing the same. They are also required to provide their employees with appropriate protective clothing and equipments in addition to providing heir employees with health and safety information, including appropriate training.
