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Health and Safety at Work Act 2015

Worker engagement, participation, and representation - Prohibition of adverse, coercive, or misleading conduct

92: Prohibition on coercion or inducement

You could also call this:

“You can't force or pressure others about health and safety duties”

You are not allowed to force or pressure someone to do or not do something related to this law. This includes trying to make them perform or not perform a task, use or not use a power, or stop them from taking on a role under this law.

There are a few exceptions to this rule. A police officer can give reasonable directions, and an emergency services worker can give reasonable directions in an emergency.

If you break this rule, you can be fined. If you’re an individual, you could be fined up to $100,000. If you’re a company or organisation, you could be fined up to $500,000.

Emergency services workers include people who have to provide ambulance services, first aid, medical care, or fire and emergency services at the scene of an emergency.

When the law talks about ‘organising or taking action’ against someone, it also includes not taking action or threatening not to take action for that person.

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 It might be out of date or be missing some parts.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=DLM5977030.

Topics:
Work and jobs > Worker rights
Work and jobs > Workplace safety
Crime and justice > Criminal law
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91: Prohibition on requesting, instructing, inducing, encouraging, authorising, or assisting adverse conduct, or

“Don't encourage or help others to mistreat workers for health and safety actions”

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93: Misrepresentation, or

“Don't lie about health and safety rights or processes”

Part 3 Worker engagement, participation, and representation
Prohibition of adverse, coercive, or misleading conduct

92Prohibition on coercion or inducement

  1. A person must not organise or take, or threaten to organise or take, any action against another person with intent to coerce or induce the other person, or a third person,—

  2. to perform or not to perform, or to propose to perform or not to perform, a function under this Act or a function under this Act in a particular way; or
    1. to exercise or not to exercise, or propose to exercise or not to exercise, a power under this Act or a power under this Act in a particular way; or
      1. to refrain from seeking, or continuing to undertake, a role under this Act.

        1. For the purposes of subsection (1), the following are not to be treated as an action with intent to coerce or induce a person:

        2. a reasonable direction given by a constable:
          1. a reasonable direction given by an emergency services worker in an emergency.

            1. A person who contravenes subsection (1) commits an offence and is liable on conviction,—

            2. for an individual, to a fine not exceeding $100,000:
              1. for any other person, to a fine not exceeding $500,000.

                1. In this section,—

                  emergency services worker includes a person who has a legal duty (under any enactment, employment agreement, other binding agreement or arrangement, or other source) to, at the scene of an emergency, provide 1 or more of the following services:

                  1. ambulance services, first aid, or medical or paramedical care:
                    1. designated services (as defined in section 6 of the Fire and Emergency New Zealand Act 2017)

                      organise or take, or threaten to organise or take, any action against a person includes not taking a particular action or threatening not to take a particular action in relation to that person.

                      Compare
                        Notes
                        • Section 92(4) emergency services worker paragraph (b): replaced, on , by section 197 of the Fire and Emergency New Zealand Act 2017 (2017 No 17).