OSH

The Health and Safety in Employment Act (1992) imposes a general duty on employers to take all practicable steps to ensure the safety of employees while at work.

Employers and employees have obligations within the workplace. These are to:

• Identify hazards
• Eliminate hazards
• Minimize hazards (where a hazard cannot be eliminated)
• Provide safety information to staff
• Provide training or supervision so that work is done safely
• Monitor the health of employees to ensure that their work is not having a detrimental effect on their health
• Provide opportunities for their staff to contribute to all those things.

A hazard is defined as "an actual or potential cause or source of serious harm".

Examples of hazards range from risk of infections to unmanageable workloads.

By offering staff a comprehensive wellness program in their workplace, employers are demonstrating working towards a healthy and safe workplace.