As a business owner, what do I have to do about health & safety?

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As a business owner, what do I have to do about health & safety?

My perspective on the new health & safety laws

16 December 2014
Author: Geoff Hardy
Number of views: 1774
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You should all be aware by now that new health and safety laws are in the pipeline. The impetus for change came from the Christchurch earthquakes and the Pike River mining disaster, and the tragic loss of life, serious injuries and emotional trauma they resulted in. These and the official enquiries that followed them, persuaded the Government to adopt a brand new health and safety law modelled on the Australian legislation. Obviously this is not the first time we have had health and safety laws – we have had them for more than 100 years – but in the past people have not taken them seriously enough and they have not been enforced effectively.

To many business owners and managers, occupational safety and health (“OSH”) law is a body or rules that is intended to be punitive rather than preventative.

12 February 2013
Author: Geoff Hardy
Number of views: 1582
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Workplace Health & Safety Law - An Update

It seems to impose on them an impossible obligation to insulate others from every conceivable risk, and removes the incentive for others to exercise common sense and personal accountability. Liability seems to automatically flow from accidents or illnesses the firm was powerless to anticipate or prevent, as if it was simply a tax on business.

The current Health and Safety in Employment Act came into force on 1 April 1993.

2 April 2003
Author: Geoff Hardy
Number of views: 1516
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The present Government concluded that the Act was somewhat toothless and ineffective, so they introduced a raft of changes which take effect on 5 May. Those changes change the thrust of the Act, from a law that allowed business people to choose the most practicable means of ensuring health and safety at work, to a law that gives significant decision-making power to employees and their unions.

As you probably know, Minister of Labour Margaret Wilson has recently introduced proposed amendments to the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992 (the “HSE Act”).

2 November 2001
Author: Geoff Hardy
Number of views: 1944
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A lot of Government spin and alarmist business reaction has followed, some accurate, some not. I feel qualified to talk about the subject, because several years ago in a fit of inspiration I wrote two textbooks on the HSE Act (A Guide to the Case Law on the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992, and How to Survive the Health and Safety Legislation: A Practical Guide to the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992) and I have advised many businesses on their obligations under the Act since then.

OSH stands for occupational safety and health.

19 June 2000
Author: Geoff Hardy
Number of views: 1517
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It is also the name used by the division of the Labour Department that is responsible for administering the law relating to workplace health and safety. The mere thought of OSH often causes aggravation or concern to business owners and managers. But it does not have to be that way. Here are some pointers that will hopefully put your mind at rest.

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