Hi Renata – I issued a PIN to my employer and have not received any response by the date specified. Can I ask for evidence that they are working on resolving the issue? What are my next steps?
When a PIN is issued the ‘person’ to whom the PIN is issued must either comply with the PIN within the required time or, if they dispute the PIN, they must notify WorkSafe within seven calendar days of the issue date.
If your employer has failed to act, they may find themselves in a pickle!
S.63 of the OHS Act states that if your employer is disputing the PIN and has notified WorkSafe, an Inspector must visit the workplace as soon as possible and before the day of compliance specified on the PIN. As part of the inspector’s enquiries at the workplace into the matter of the PIN the inspector should make contact with the HSR who issued the PIN.
Ask your employer if they have notified WorkSafe of their intention to dispute the PIN. If they have done so you can request your employer or WorkSafe to provide you with the date and time an inspector visited your site and a copy of the report generated by that visit.
Should the ‘person’ issued with a PIN fail to call in an inspector within seven days and fail to comply with the notice in the time specified, then that person is guilty of an offence under s.62 of the OHS Act.
In the interim, you may also request that your employer provide information about efforts being made to resolve the issue addressed by the PIN. I recommend that you make this request by email so that you have a record of the request.
Your employer has other duties relating to the receipt of a PIN –
- s.60 of the OHS Act also states that if the person to who the PIN is issued is an employee (e.g. you issue the PIN to your employer and give/serve the PIN to your manager) they must bring the PIN to the notice of the employer; they must bring the PIN to the attention of each person whose work is affected by the PIN; and they must display a copy of the PIN in a prominent place at or near the workplace, or part of the workplace, at which work is being performed that is affected by the PIN. Has your employer displayed the PIN in the appropriate place or otherwise informed employees of the PIN?
- s.35 of the OHS Act requires your employer to consult with HSRs when resolving OHS issues. If your employer claims that the issue is resolved, did they consult with you or other HSRs in the issue resolution process?
If your employer has not complied with the PIN or their other related duties go ahead and call WorkSafe 1800 136 089 to request an inspector visit your site immediately to resolve this issue.
I recommend also contacting your union directly for support and guidance through this process.
If you have any questions about OHS we encourage to fill out an Ask Renata query and one of our officials will get back to you shortly. Alternatively give Ask Renatabot a try!