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Health and Safety at Work Act 2015

Health and safety duties - Duties of PCBUs

38: Duty of PCBU who manages or controls fixtures, fittings, or plant at workplaces

You could also call this:

“Responsibility to keep workplace equipment safe”

If you manage or control fixtures, fittings, or plant at a workplace, you have a duty to make sure they are safe. You need to do everything that is reasonably possible to ensure these items don’t risk anyone’s health and safety.

However, you don’t have this duty to people who are at the workplace for illegal reasons.

When we talk about managing or controlling fixtures, fittings, or plant at a workplace, we mean that your business or job involves looking after these things, even if it’s only part of what you do. But this doesn’t include you if you’re just living in a house, unless that house is also used for business. It also doesn’t include certain people that the law has said are exempt.

This text is automatically generated. It might be out of date or be missing some parts. Find out more about how we do this.

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM5976899.

Topics:
Work and jobs > Workplace safety
Business > Industry rules
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37: Duty of PCBU who manages or controls workplace, or

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“Designers must ensure work-related products are safe for all users”

Part 2 Health and safety duties
Duties of PCBUs

38Duty of PCBU who manages or controls fixtures, fittings, or plant at workplaces

  1. A PCBU who manages or controls fixtures, fittings, or plant at a workplace must, so far as is reasonably practicable, ensure that the fixtures, fittings, or plant are without risks to the health and safety of any person.

  2. Despite subsection (1), a PCBU who manages or controls fixtures, fittings, or plant at a workplace does not owe a duty under that subsection to any person who is at the workplace for an unlawful purpose.

  3. In this section, a PCBU who manages or controls fixtures, fittings, or plant at a workplace—

  4. means a PCBU to the extent that the business or undertaking involves the management or control of fixtures, fittings, or plant (in whole or in part) at a workplace; but
    1. does not include—
      1. the occupier of a residence, unless the residence is occupied for the purposes of, or as part of, the conduct of a business or undertaking; or
        1. a prescribed person.

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