By law, this responsibility falls on the Chief Executive Officer of an organisation, who is automatically “appointed” in terms of Section 16(1) of the Act.

Yes, they may assign any duty to any person in terms of Section 16(2) of the Act. However, it is important to note that the CEO only assigns their duty and not their responsibility.

No, any appointment must be done in writing (preferably on a company letterhead), signed by both the CEO and the Appointee.

Yes, they may appoint as many people as deemed necessary to assist them with their duties in terms of Section 8 of the Act. Once again, please note that only duties are assigned and not responsibilities.

According to Section 13 of the Act, the Employer has a duty to inform Employees with regards to any hazards attached to their work and all precautionary measures to be taken.

Employers must supply and enforce the wearing of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and have written safe work procedures in place.

They should be nominated and elected by fellow Employees.

Their appointment should be in writing, indicating their period of appointment and area of responsibility.

One Health And Safety Representative should be appointed if more that 20 people are employed. Thereafter, one Health And Safety Representative for every 50 employees or part thereof is required.

At least once every three months.

The committee must elect a chairperson.

According to Section 24.1(a) incidents need to be reported for death, unconsciousness, loss of a limb or part thereof, occupational disease and when an employee is off duty for 14 days or longer due to an injury on duty or occupational illness.

According to Section 24.1(b) and Section 24.1(c) incidents need to be reported for a spillage of a dangerous substance, an uncontrolled release of substance under pressure, fractured machinery – uncontrolled, flying or falling objects, and machinery that ran out of control.

Reporting should be done within the prescribed period of 7 days, using form W.Cl.1 for occupational disease and form W.Cl.2 for occupational injuries.

Every Employer shall provide and maintain a workplace that is safe and without risk to the health of Employees.

A safe working environment can be achieved by hazard identification, identification of measures to manage the hazards, implementation of control measures, providing information and training, ensuring that all persons on the premises comply with the Act, enforcing discipline and by every Employee knowing their scope of authority.

Employees should co-operate with the employer, carry out lawful orders and obey rules and procedures, report unsafe conditions and situations, and report incidents which may affect health or safety.