What Worksafe Reps is doing Ensuring our venues can support good hygiene practices, such as soap and water and/or hand sanitiser, paper towels and tissues; Ensuring regularly touched surfaces have been cleaned including door-knobs, light switches and tables; Checking that our caterers are extra vigilant with hand hygiene and are not working if they [...]
Image Credit: Panther Media Almost daily we hear news of workplace bullying, stress and harassment cases in NZ. Are these behaviours getting worse or are more people now feeling empowered to speak up? Either way, the cost to businesses who are not working towards positive workplace environments are at risk. The impact [...]
We all know health and safety is an important part of any business. Without a solid plan in place, you run the risk of accidents happening under your watch (and a team of very unhappy employees!). The good news? Once you’ve sorted a health and safety plan and got your team trained and ready to [...]
Being experienced doesn’t guarantee you’re a safer worker or better at your job – sometimes being around the block leads to complacency. So, how can employers keep their people safe? Read on to find out what I discovered during a recent conversation with my brother-in-law David, an Australian earth-moving business owner. David and I were [...]
In April 2016, the new Health and Safety at Work Act came into force, significantly increasing penalties for those compromising workplace safety. Courts have served more than $1.7 million in fines and reparation orders across the Waikato region alone since 2014. Richard Wagstaff, president of the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions, said that although it was [...]
The controversial Health and Safety at Work Act came into force in April this year and many small businesses are still coming to grips with the changes. The new act has a much broader reach. While the person conducting the business or undertaking (PCBU) is considered to hold the primary duty of care, everyone's responsibility has [...]
It’s been almost three months since the new Health and Safety act came out, and the reaction has been as expected, with most people embracing the change, and others still wondering why the need for it? Coming from a small business background, both as an owner and as a supplier, I have seen and heard [...]