Notice Board
Getting to safety in an emergency: Evacuation plans and procedures
As discussed in previous blogs, despite the best efforts and full cooperation of employees, it is impossible to expect and prevent every accident or emergency from ever happening – in life or at work. Part of good planning and sound policies to protect the health and...
Ergonomics as a Health & Safety Risk Factor
In December 2019, the Minister of Employment and Labour published the new Ergonomics Regulations in terms of section 43 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act of 1993. These regulations focus on a programme to approach the management of the physical and cognitive...
Creating a safety culture
Recently, it has become quite trendy to refer to any behavioural system within an organisation as its “culture” – referring to the way in which things are done in the organisation. Workplace culture has become very well known, and similarly it would be wise to...
Safety representatives: appointment and training
“The Occupational Health and Safety Act, Act 85 of 1993, is the main legislation governing workplace safety and policy in South Africa. The main objective of the Act is to pro-actively attempt to prevent and avoid work related injuries and illness.” A key principle of...
Health & Safety in the Disciplinary Code
Any Health & Safety plan, no matter how comprehensive, will only ever yield results commensurate with how well it is followed. Both employers and employees are responsible, in an interdependent relationship, for the health and safety of everyone in the workplace....
Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment (HIRA)
The biggest responsibility on any employer, as well as the most important duty imposed by the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) is to conduct a risk assessment. The outcome of such an assessment should inform the decisions and policies the employer institutes...
First Aid in the workplace
In any environment at any time, any person can fall ill or suffer an injury – including the workplaces. Regardless of whether this illness or injury comes because of the work performed, an employer is duty-bound to offer immediate and appropriate medical assistance....
COIDA Part 2 – How to claim for occupational injuries and diseases
Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases (COID) is a government body that compensates workers who have been injured at work or who have contracted a disease at work. One can think of it as a large insurance policy. Employers pay a set tariff (similar to a...
COIDA: Overview Part 1
It is an unfortunate reality that despite of the best efforts of an employer enjoying the full cooperation of employees, accidents can and do happen leading to an occupational injury. Unfortunately, there are many who believe that their responsibility to the employee...
Recent Comments