Empowering Members of Your Health & Safety Committee
New members of a company’s Health and Safety Committee can bring important things to the committee from their position and experience as a worker or supervisor in the company. They also probably need to increase their knowledge, understanding and skills in order to do well in the committee. Perhaps that also applies for one or more of your existing committee members.
The individual knowledge, understanding and skills of all your Health and Safety Committee members needs to be up to the expectations of what the Health and Safety Committee is meant to do and the level of involvement in contributing to business decisions relating to health and safety in the workplace. Other than HSCs that are put together for specific or temporary WHS projects, HSCs in NSW usually cover the workplace as a whole.
Per Section 77 of the WHS Act, there are three areas that the Health and Safety Committee could be involved with in relation to the big WHS decisions of the organisation. They are;
a) to facilitate co-operation between the person conducting the business or undertaking (PCBU) and workers in instigating, developing and carrying out measures designed to ensure the workers’ health and safety at work, and
b) to assist in developing standards, rules and procedures relating to health and safety that are to be followed or complied with at the workplace, and
c) any other functions prescribed by the regulations or agreed between the PCBU and the committee.
In a) above, the HSC serves as the meeting point for the management representatives and worker representatives, including your Health and Safety Representatives who have also elected to participate on the HSC, to collaborate on the health and safety matters in the workplace that the organisation needs to present for consultation. The phrase used in the WHS legislation to introduce the functions of an HSC is to “facilitate cooperation between the PCBU and workers…”
An HSC and its members will be called upon to contribute to the instigation, development, and carrying out of measures that ensure a safe workplace. They will be involved in these actions and will be asked to contribute. Fortunately, HSC members appear to have an innate desire to help others. What they say as an HSC member is important.
In b) above, committee members are required to be involved in helping with the development of company standards, rules, and procedures for eventual implementation and compliance. The organisation cannot just come up with rules and regulations off its own bat. It must consult with its workforce. As an HSC member you are expected to be able to talk about these things and offer valuable contributions to help the business achieve these policy goals.
In c) above, HSCs may be carrying out actions that have been newly introduced in WHS regulations, or are specific actions or projects agreed between the PCBU and the HSC. These could be activities unique to the industry, or short-term projects such as moving premises; replacing, upgrading, or installing new plant or machinery; or organizing and holding events, seminars, or public relations activities to the public, or the process of in-depth assessment and elimination or minimising of workplace risk.
Your on-the-job-training may not fully cover what your HSC is supposed to do, and what they should know in order to participate effectively as a Health and Safety Committee member. Courtenell can tailor and deliver training for your HSC members to remedy any gaps so that they are empowered with the knowledge, understanding and skills that they need. Our 1-day or 2-day HSC course may already have the content you need.
An HSC whose members are able to positively contribute to facilitating cooperation between the PCBU and the employees that results in improved health and safety is an asset to any organisation.
25th August 2020
