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Health and Safety at Work Act 2015

Health and safety at work - Interpretation - Key terms

18: Meaning of officer

You could also call this:

“Who counts as an officer in a business or organisation”

In this law, an officer is someone who has an important role in a business or organisation. If the business is a company, an officer is a director. For a partnership, it’s any partner. In a limited partnership, it’s a general partner. For other types of organisations, it’s someone in a role similar to a director.

An officer can also be someone who has a lot of influence over how the business is run, like a chief executive. However, government ministers aren’t considered officers when they’re doing their job as ministers.

It’s important to know that just giving advice or making suggestions to the people in charge doesn’t make you an officer. You need to have actual power to make decisions or control things in the business to be considered an officer.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM6544131.

Topics:
Work and jobs > Workplace safety
Work and jobs > Worker rights
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17: Meaning of PCBU, or

“Who counts as a person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU)”

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19: Meaning of worker, or

“Who counts as a worker under this law”

Part 1 Health and safety at work
Interpretation: Key terms

18Meaning of officer

  1. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires, officer, in relation to a PCBU,—

  2. means, if the PCBU is—
    1. a company, any person occupying the position of a director of the company by whatever name called:
      1. a partnership (other than a limited partnership), any partner:
        1. a limited partnership, any general partner:
          1. a body corporate or an unincorporated body, other than a company, partnership, or limited partnership, any person occupying a position in the body that is comparable with that of a director of a company; and
          2. includes any other person occupying a position in relation to the business or undertaking that allows the person to exercise significant influence over the management of the business or undertaking (for example, a chief executive); but
            1. does not include a Minister of the Crown acting in that capacity; and
              1. to avoid doubt, does not include a person who merely advises or makes recommendations to a person referred to in paragraph (a) or (b).

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