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Health and Safety at Work Act 2015

Enforcement and other matters - Remedial action

119: When regulator may carry out remedial action

You could also call this:

“Safety boss can fix problems if you don't follow the rules”

If someone doesn’t follow the rules in a prohibition notice, the regulator can step in to make things safe. The regulator is like a safety boss who makes sure people follow the rules to keep everyone safe at work.

Before the regulator takes action, they will send a letter to the person who didn’t follow the rules. This letter will tell the person two important things. First, it will say that the regulator plans to fix the safety problem themselves. Second, it will let the person know that they will have to pay for the cost of fixing the problem.

The regulator will only do what they think is reasonable to make the workplace or situation safe. They won’t do more than what’s needed to fix the safety issue.

Remember, all of this happens because someone didn’t take reasonable steps to follow the rules in the prohibition notice. A prohibition notice is a serious warning that tells people to stop doing something unsafe at work.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM5977074.

Topics:
Work and jobs > Workplace safety
Work and jobs > Worker rights
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118: Inspector may display notice, or

“Inspectors can post notices at workplaces and it's illegal to remove or damage them”

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120: Power of regulator to take other remedial action, or

“Regulator can take immediate action to fix dangerous workplace situations”

Part 4 Enforcement and other matters
Remedial action

119When regulator may carry out remedial action

  1. This section applies if a person to whom a prohibition notice is issued fails to take reasonable steps to comply with the notice.

  2. The regulator may take any remedial action it believes reasonable to make the workplace or situation safe after giving written notice to the person to whom the prohibition notice was issued of—

  3. the regulator's intention to take that action; and
    1. the person's liability for the costs of that action.

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