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Health and Safety at Work Act 2015

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

60: When engagement is required

You could also call this:

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

You need to talk with workers about health and safety at work in certain situations. These situations include when you’re finding dangers and figuring out risks from the work being done. You also need to talk to workers when deciding how to get rid of or reduce these risks.

You should chat with workers when you’re making choices about whether the facilities for workers’ wellbeing are good enough. If you’re planning changes that might affect workers’ health or safety, you need to involve them in the conversation.

You must include workers when you’re deciding on procedures for talking with workers, checking on their health, and keeping an eye on workplace conditions. Workers should also be part of discussions about how to give information and training to workers.

When you’re figuring out how to solve health and safety problems at work, you need to talk to your workers. The same goes for when you’re coming up with ways for workers to participate, like when you’re deciding on work groups.

Lastly, if there are any other activities that the rules say you need to talk to workers about, you should do that too.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM5976958.

Topics:

Work and jobs > Worker rights

Work and jobs > Workplace safety

59: Nature of engagement, or

“How to involve workers in health and safety discussions”

61: Duty to have worker participation practices, or

“Businesses must involve workers in improving workplace health and safety”

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

60When engagement is required

Engagement with workers under this subpart is required in relation to work health and safety matters in the following circumstances:
when identifying hazards and assessing risks to work health and safety arising from the work carried out or to be carried out as part of the conduct of the business or undertaking:
when making decisions about ways to eliminate or minimise those risks:
when making decisions about the adequacy of facilities for the welfare of workers:
when proposing changes that may affect the health or safety of workers:
when making decisions about the procedures for the following:
1. engaging with workers:
2. monitoring the health of workers:
3. monitoring the conditions at any workplace under the management or control of the PCBU:
4. providing information and training for workers:
when making decisions about the procedures (if any) for resolving work health or safety issues at the workplace:
when developing worker participation practices, including when determining work groups:
when carrying out any other activity prescribed by regulations for the purposes of this section.

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