BSBWHS302 – Apply knowledge of WHS legislation in the workplace

Activity 1:

 Discuss and share health and safety concerns of employees

 Identify safety hazards and risks
 Find and implement practical solutions
 Undertake risk management activities
 Propose changes that may affect workers
 Assess the adequacy of facilities for the welfare of workers
 Assess the work health and safety procedures and the need for change

Activity 2:

Location: café that contributes to WHS legislative requirements

Reasons:

 There are a number of training schedules and time for all employees
 There are checklists and audits in place for stock, cleaning and rostering etc.
 Signs are placed on the walls at the premises such as hazard signs, no smoking signs and
notice that the workplace complies with the WHS regulations
 There are protective equipment in the kitchen
 Wet floor signs are used after cleaning
 There are regular meetings for employees to discuss with employers their concerns
 There are standard incident reports that require completing if an incident occurs
 When there are legislative changes or operational changes there is communication
circulated for meetings between those affected.

Activity 3:

True/False

1. To keep up with news and developments in relation to WHS/OHS legislation and relevant
publications, the first thing you need to do is identify the best sources to use – TRUE
2. Workplace health and safety needs to have a process made and then not reviewed unless
necessary – FALSE
3. WHS information is disseminated via supervisors as well as the university WHS Committee
and Workplace Advisory Committees for WHS – TRUE

Assessment – BSBWHS302

Apply knowledge of WHS legislation in the workplace

1. What are the WHS/OHS Laws relevant to your organisation?

For Victoria, the following apply:

 Act: Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 (Vic)

 Regulation: Occupational Health and Safety Regulations 2017 (Vic)
 Codes: Vic Compliance Codes
 Regulator: WorkSafe Victoria
2. What are the duties imposed on a person that ensure health and safety in the workplace?

Duties imposed on a person to ensure health or safety (‘health and safety duties’) require
the person:

 to eliminate risks to health and safety, so far as is reasonably practicable, and

 if it is not reasonably practicable to eliminate risks to health and safety, to minimise
those risks so far as is reasonably practicable.

Workers must:

 Take reasonable care for their own health and safety.

 Take reasonable care that their acts or omissions do not adversely affect the health
and safety of other persons.
 Comply, so far as the worker is reasonably able, with any reasonable instruction
given by a person conducting a business or undertaking to allow the person
conducting the business or undertaking to comply with the WHS Act.
 Cooperate with any reasonable policy or procedure of the person conducting the
business or undertaking which relates to work health or safety and that has been
notified to workers.

3. Who are the duty holders in a workplace?

A duty holder refers to any person who owes a work health and safety duty under the WHS
Act including a person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU), designer, manufacturer,
importer, supplier, installer of products or plant used at work (upstream duty holders), an
officer and workers.

4. List the duties of a worker

Workers must:

 take reasonable care for their own health and safety

 take reasonable care for the health and safety of others who may affected by
their acts or omissions
 cooperate with anything the employer does to comply with OHS requirements
 not 'intentionally or recklessly interfere with or misuse' anything provided at the
workplace for OHS.

5. What are the legal obligations of an employer in relation to consultation?

An employer is now referred to as PCBU (Person Conducting Business or Undertaking) has a

duty under the WHS Act to consult with workers of all levels of the business. They are
required to keep open lines of communication and consultation with workers, which can be
achieved by:

 Creating and nurturing joint partnerships with groups, employee representatives,

etc.
 Ensuring effective consultation processes are built in to the business through its
systems, policies and procedures
 Engage with workers by being visible and open to feedback
 A PCBU must consult with their employees in the following situations:

 When determining how the consultation process will take place

 In the assessment of risks and review of risk assessments
 When making decisions on the control of WHS/OHS risks in the workplace
 During the introduction or change of procedures used for monitoring risks, for
example health surveillance
 When making decisions about the adequacy of welfare facilities
 When proposed changes are made to premises, work methods, plant or substances
which may affect the health, safety or welfare of employees at work
 When making decisions about consultation procedures
 As prescribed by the regulations from time to time

6. What are the consequences of non-compliance?

 Provisional Improvement Notices (PINs)
 Fines and penalties
 Inspectors – securing compliance
 Enforcement measures

7. How can you contribute to monitoring compliance?

 Identify hazards
 Assess risks
 Control risks
 Hierarchy of risk control
 Monitor control measures
 Continuously improve

8. How can you ensure your workplace is compliant with legislation?

 Undertake an audit of your current safety management system.
 Get advice from a professional. Seek out a WHS specialist to help assess the entire
safety management system and choose one who can give practical advice that
ensures that the system is compliant.
 Ensure there are regular checks and keep up to date with any updates to legislation
or regulation.
 Sign up to an OHS subscription that will provide any updates

9. What could you do if you witnessed an act of non-compliance?

 If the non-compliance is not severe it might be a good idea to report the non-
compliance first to a manager
 Alternatively if there is a minor change required (such as putting up a sign) you may
wish to do that yourself
 If the workplace is undertaking a serious act of non-compliance and refuses to
change, you may wish to report it to the authorities.

10. Do you think your limits of expertise extend to the following? Consider whether you feel
confident in your ability to:
I feel confident in my abilities to engage in all the following:
  Accessing information about OHS legislation
 Meeting duty of care obligations (if I were an employer)
 Deal with a range of health and safety topics related to your business/industry
 Accurately interpret OHS legislation and regulations
 Consult with workers on safety issues
 Contribute to an OHS audit
 Contribute to an OHS inspection
 Work with or oversee the work of external specialists and consultants
 Conduct risks assessments.

11. What sources could you use to keep up to date with relevant legislation?
 Trade organisations and shows
 Find a mentor
 Face to face networking
 Subscribe to newsletters from the legislator
 Participate in seminars, conferences, webinars etc
 Check internal procedures consistently
 Keep a database of progressive updates to legislation and regulations
 Appoint a compliance officer

12. What information would you need to be communicated to staff members in relation to
WHS?
Communication to staff members can include:
 The WHS requirements and procedures
 What is acceptable and not acceptable
 Methods of communication and reporting

Consulting with staff members needs to include the following:

 identifying hazards and assessing risks arising from work.

 making decisions about ways to eliminate or minimise those risks.
 making decisions about the adequacy of facilities for the welfare of workers.
 proposing changes that may affect the health and safety of workers.
 making decisions about the procedures for resolving health and safety issues.
 monitoring the health of workers or workplace conditions, information and training
or consultation with workers.
 carrying out any other activity prescribed by the WHS Regulations.

Task 1 – OHS/WHS legislation

1. Anti-discrimination legislation

In Australia, it is unlawful to discriminate on the basis of a number of protected attributes

including age, disability, race, sex, intersex status, gender identity and sexual orientation in
certain areas of public life, including education and employment. Australia's federal anti-
discrimination laws are contained in the following legislation:
  Age Discrimination Act 2004 - is an Act of the Parliament of Australia that prohibits
age discrimination in many areas including employment, education, accommodation
and the provision of goods and services. A claim can be made which will depend on
the circumstances surrounding the discrimination. The outcome of the claim can
result in the offender paying damages to the applicant, an order to not repeat the
discrimination, perform any reasonable act or course of conduct to mitigate the
damage, vary the termination of a contract or agreement, or re employ someone.

 Disability Discrimination Act 1992 – the Act makes it unlawful to discriminate against
a person, in many areas of public life, including: employment, education, getting or
using services, renting or buying a house or unit, and accessing public places,
because of their disability. Consequences of breaching the Act can range from fines
to imprisonment.

 Racial Discrimination Act 1975 – the Act makes it unlawful to discriminate against a
person because of his or her race, colour, descent, national origin or ethnic origin, or
immigrant status. Penalties can range from fines to imprisonment.

 Sex Discrimination Act 1984 – the Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex,
marital or relationship status, actual or potential pregnancy, sexual orientation,
gender identity, intersex status or breastfeeding in a range of areas of public life.
Penalties can include fines, an order to stop the discrimination, an order to change
policy within the area of discrimination. Other consequences can be a bad
reputation for the company.

ETHICAL PRINCIPLES
The cafes ethics are contained within the employee handbook and include:
These are:
 Honesty
 Integrity
 Trustworthiness
 Loyalty
 Fairness
 Concern and respect for others
 Commitment to excellence
 Leadership
 Reputation and morale
 Accountability

CODES OF PRACTICE
 The storage and handling of dangerous goods
 Cleanliness and waste handling
 Hazardous manual handling code
 Communicating occupational health and safety across languages
  For each of the above the duty holders are all those involved with the business. The
employer must communicate the expectations and the employees must abide by
the codes of practice.

PRIVACY

 Privacy - The Privacy Act 1988 (Privacy Act) regulates how personal information is
handled. The Privacy Act defines personal information as: …information or an
opinion, whether true or not, and whether recorded in a material form or not, about
an identified individual, or an individual who is reasonably identifiable

The Australian Privacy Principles include the following:

o the open and transparent management of personal information including
having a privacy policy
o an individual having the option of transacting anonymously or using a
pseudonym where practicable
o the collection of solicited personal information and receipt of unsolicited
personal information including giving notice about collection
o how personal information can be used and disclosed (including overseas)
o maintaining the quality of personal information
o keeping personal information secure
o right for individuals to access and correct their personal information
 The APP form a part of the employee handbook and also advice is
contained in their specifying where employees are able to report
complaints or concerns in relation to any breach of APP.
 The Duty Holders are the Employers as well as the Employees depending
on the situations.
 There are fines that can be imposed for breach of privacy principles
along with obligations to notify and rectify the damage if possible.

OHS/WHS

 WHS/OHS
o Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004
o Occupational Health and Safety Regulations 2007
 A summary of the regulations form a part of the employee
handbook
 Examples of how to apply the Act and Regulations are explained in
training seminars
o The Duty Holders are both the Employers and Employees in the workplace.
o Non compliance with WHS and OHS can result in physical or emotional harm
to employees, customers and employers, or further result in the authorities
imposing fines or notices.
o Day to day activities for the workplace will include WHS/OHS considerations.
In the café they can include safety procedures, health care, protective
equipment, signs etc.
Task 2 – WHS/OHS Application

Workplace evaluated

Name: Meat Me

Workplace description: Restaurant and bar providing food services to the public

Contact person: Kostas Kelogrou

Date of Consultation: 27 March 2019

Checklist

1. Does the organisation have and keep up to date safe work policies instructions and
procedures – Yes and this is evidenced by folders and documents which are kept in the
organisation and distributed to employees
2. Does you organisation tailor and distribute its safe work policies, instructions and
procedures? Yes each of the documents are provided to all employees, some are placed up
on the wall and communicated in meetings also.
3. Does your organisation make sure all its staff and volunteers are provided with training,
information, instruction and supervision so that they can do their work safely? Yes. There is
a regular training schedule for all current and new employees and follow ups with each of
the staff members. Supervision is always provided on shifts.
4. Does your organisation provide the same protections to its volunteers as its paid workers? I
have not seen any volunteers in our workplace however I have seen a manual which is for all
employees and volunteers.
5. Does your organisation consult its staff about work health and safety matters that affect
them? Yes and the policy is that you can always approach a manager about any concerns
you have.
6. Does your organisation provide its volunteers a way to raise work health and safety matters
and make suggestions for work health and safety practices? Yes as above the policy is you
can always approach a manager to raise concerns and it is encouraged.
7. Does your organisation tell its staff about what to do and who to tell if something goes
wrong while they are working? Yes there is a manual which advises who you should
approach depending on the situation.
8. Has your organisation identified who are its officers, paid or volunteer? Yes and they are
written in a document contained in an office which is available to all staff.
9. Do all officers in your organisation know about their duties under the WHS Act? Officers are
provided with a list of their duties and responsibilities and information is circulated in the
workplace regularly.
10. Do the members of your organisations board talk about work health and safety matters
policies and procedures and safe work practices at its meetings? Yes there are usually
several different meetings, some include staff and some include the board only, but there
are always opportunities to discuss concerns or any incidents that have occurred.

REPORT

Name: Meat Me (“Workplace”)

Workplace description: Restaurant and bar providing food services to the public
Contact person: Kostas Kelogrou

Date of Consultation: 27 March 2019

Observations

 The Workplace appears compliant with WHS and OHS legislation. Findings are based on the
following facts:
o Safe work policies and procedures and instructions are pinned up on the wall,
distributed as a part of introduction to employees to the workplace and updated
over time
o The policies are updated and the organisation seems to be concerned with ensuring
the safety of staff is under control
o There are regular training seminars and schedules which each employee is required
to attend and additional training is available if requested
o There is an open door policy with regards to employee concerns and especially with
regards to health and safety
o There are signs all over the restaurant in relation to protecting employees and the
public (such as wet floor, no smoking, protective equipment, privacy etc)
 The Workplace may increase its WHS and OHS compliance by the following:
o There is not too much evidence as to how volunteers are treated and what policies
and procedures apply to them (if they vary from the usual ones that apply to
employees).