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New Zealand law explained for everyone

Health and Safety at Work Act 2015

Worker engagement, participation, and representation - Engagement with workers and worker participation practices - Engagement with workers

59: Nature of engagement

You could also call this:

“How to involve workers in health and safety discussions”

When you engage with workers about work health and safety, you need to do a few important things. First, you must share all the relevant information with your workers quickly. You should give your workers a fair chance to share their thoughts and bring up any work health or safety issues they’re worried about. You also need to let your workers help make decisions about these matters. It’s important that you listen to what your workers say and think about their views. After you’ve talked with your workers, you need to tell them what you’ve decided to do, and you should do this quickly.

If your workers have chosen someone to be their health and safety representative, you must include this person when you talk to workers about health and safety. This representative speaks for the workers, so it’s important they’re part of the conversation.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM5976957.

Topics:
Work and jobs > Workplace safety
Work and jobs > Worker rights
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58: Duty to engage with workers, or

“You must talk with workers about health and safety matters”

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60: When engagement is required, or

“When you must talk with workers about health and safety at work”

Part 3 Worker engagement, participation, and representation
Engagement with workers and worker participation practices: Engagement with workers

59Nature of engagement

  1. Engagement with workers under this subpart requires—

  2. that relevant information about the matter be shared with workers in a timely manner; and
    1. that workers be given a reasonable opportunity—
      1. to express their views and to raise work health or safety issues in relation to the matter; and
        1. to contribute to the decision-making process relating to the matter; and
        2. that the views of workers be taken into account by the PCBU; and
          1. that the workers be advised of the outcome of the engagement in a timely manner.

            1. If the workers are represented by a health and safety representative, the engagement must involve that representative.

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