Engaging with workers
While PCBUs are responsible for making decisions regarding health and safety, they don’t always have a full understanding of the finer detail or subtleties of the work performed or the working conditions. To help improve this understanding, it is important that PCBUs engage in regular consultation with their workers.
Consultation is a collaborative process between PCBUs and their workers. It involves sharing information about work health and safety and ensuring that the views of workers are considered when making decisions about health and safety in the workplace.
Given the importance of consultation in contributing to work health and safety, the Work Health and Safety Act 2020 (WHS Act) prescribes a general duty to consult with your workers.
Consultation with workers
PCBUs must, so far as is reasonably practicable, consult with workers who are likely to be directly affected by health and safety matters. This includes giving workers a reasonable opportunity to express their views or raise issues about work health and safety at the workplace.
If there is an agreed consultation procedure, the consultation must be in accordance with those procedures. If a health and safety representative (HSR) represents workers, the consultation must also involve the HSR.
When a PCBU must consult with workers
As a PCBU, you must consult with your workers and take their views into account when:
- identifying hazards and assessing risks arising from work
- proposing changes that may affect the health and safety of workers
- whenever specifically required to do so under particular regulations.
You must also consult with workers when considering making decisions about:
- ways to eliminate or minimise risks
- the adequacy of facilities for the welfare of workers at work
- procedures for consulting with workers
- procedures for resolving health and safety issues
- procedures for monitoring the health of workers or workplace conditions
- how to provide health and safety information and training to workers.
The views of workers must be considered when consulting under these provisions. However there is no requirement for agreement to be reached.
Workers who have been consulted under these provisions must be advised of the outcome in a timely manner. There is no particular approach in which this advice must be given, and so it could be given at a ‘toolbox’ meeting or even posted as an intranet news item.
Worker representation and participation
Your workers are entitled to:
- elect a health and safety representative (HSR) if they wish to be represented by one
- request the formation of a health and safety committee
- cease unsafe work in certain circumstances
- have health and safety issues at the workplace resolved through an agreed issue resolution procedure
- not be discriminated against for raising health and safety issues.
Health and safety representatives
A health and safety representative (HSR) is a person elected by a work group of which they are a member, to represent the health and safety interests of the group.
Any worker can ask the PCBU they are working for to facilitate the election of one or more HSRs for the workplace. There can be as many HSRs and deputy HSRs as needed after consultation, negotiation and agreement between workers and the PCBU.
Once determined, the PCBU must keep a current list of all HSRs and deputy HSRs for the workplace(s) and display a copy at the relevant workplace.