As described by the Model Work Health and Safety Act, the primary duty of care of a person conducting a business or undertaking is to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of workers engaged, or caused to be engaged by the person; and workers whose activities in carrying out work are influenced or directed by the person, while the workers are at work in the business or undertaking. The directive further states that a person conducting a business or undertaking must, so far as is reasonably practicable, consult, in accordance with the relevant Division of the Act and the regulations, with workers who carry out work for the business or undertaking who are, or are likely to be, directly affected by a matter relating to work health or safety.
These sections and subsections form part of Division 2 of the Model Work Health and Safety Act, describing the Primary Duty of Care of a person conducting a business or undertaking. The Model Code of Practice provided by Safe Work Australia concerning How to Manage Work Health and Safety Risks elaborates on Section 19 of the Model Work Health and Safety Act by stating that PCBUs have a duty to consult workers about work health and safety and may also have duties to consult, cooperate and coordinate with other duty holders; regarding risks and how to control them, based on the recognition that worker input and participation improves decision-making about health and safety matters and assists in reducing work-related injuries and disease that may affect workers, bystanders, and subcontractors.
Consultation with workers signals management commitment to and formalised engagement with the necessary processes of managing work health and safety risks in a collaborative manner. Regardless of whether an individual is a manager overseeing departments or teams, a supervisor on the line, or an individual worker, consultation processes allow a productive and engaged exchange of information to find out who is doing what and to work together to eliminate or minimise risks so far as is reasonably practicable. The process of sharing information, deciding on and providing reasonable opportunities to express views and contribute to discussions, as well as documenting and relaying the outcomes of consultation are proposed and described in Safe Work Australia's Model Code of Practice for Work health and safety consultation, cooperation and coordination. While these are standard documents and therefore not tailored to the case of the business, they provide good starting points.
Consultation with workers can be used to provide workers with support and identify points of concern proactively. Support through management commitment is a recognised protector of workers' physical and mental health, and consultation is an important signpost and system through which management engagement with worker wellbeing and welfare can be undertaken. Workers operate and undertake their duties of work in small teams and may not be appraised of or engaged with broader organisational overtures toward work health and safety. By involving workers from multiple teams, multiple departments, or multiple stakeholder groups in the consultation process, allowing those workers time, structure, and an avenue with which to participate in a democratised and humanised safety process, those workers receive a positive indication that the organisation for which they work is proactively engaged in safety practice for the protection of the business as well as for the protection of the individual.
Consultation with workers can be used as proactive and leading indicators of safety where concerns identified by line staff can inform the development and prioritisation of interventions undertaken through an Occupational Health and Safety Management System. The effectiveness of the Safety Management System is determined by the information that System collects and the manner in which it is used. Worker consultation can be seen as an ethnographic or occupational-anthropological coding exercise where the expression of concerns relating to process, plant, and places of work can be used to inform more empirical measurement of and control for risks that may be perceived or actual. The difference between the two is important - workers may not be aware of all of the risks to which they are exposed, and if they are aware of those risks then they may not prioritise their management if those risks are abstract, nonempirical, or otherwise immaterial. Further to this, where controls are developed as an outcome of consultative processes, workers have the opportunity to own more of their safety activities and may therefore be more engaged.
Each workplace is different, with different demands, methods of business, and is staffed by people whose capacities, needs, and risk profiles are different. Managing ergonomic, environmental, and occupational health and safety challenges requires a business to examine and engage with the ecosystem of factors that give rise to risk, and how that risk may affect people. Each workplace is different and so sometimes the same problem will require different solutions. This applies to workers as well - every person is different and so may require different support, supervision, or resources to perform comfortably and sustainably. Under Work Health and Safety law, consultation with the workforce, the control of risk as far as is reasonably practicable, and the provision of information, training, instruction and support to the worker by the workplace, is essential to meet obligations to provide workers with a workplace that is as free of risk as far is reasonably practicable.
In our capacity as consultants, Atlas Physio will explore and scope the business and its needs, examining how exposures, risks, and processes contribute to the hazard ecosystem, best inform the design and arrangement of procedural, policy-based, and practical risk controls. Our solutions are tailored to the needs of those with whom we work, implemented in a simple, sustainable, and supportive fashion, designed to be robust and resilient, and to support the ongoing life of the business as well as the sustainable wellbeing of the workers who undertake the day to day activities of work.
At Atlas Physio, we provide reporting, structured control, and ongoing management of risk onsite, on the road, and wherever work is done. We are open seven days a week, and are happy to offer a brief complimentary discussion to explore the needs of your business and your workers if you are an employer, and your needs if you are a worker. Reach out today to arrange a discussion and take the first step toward managing risk and working safely, supported by expertise that is practical, reliable, and designed to deliver lasting results.