Hi Renata – I'm a teacher and an HSR at a school. We are finding that risk assessment and planning for excursions and camps is being completed but not consulted upon. What advice do you have about how to raise this in a way that is not perceived as a criticism or an attack?
As you know, s.21 of the OHS Act requires your employer to provide a safe workplace and s.35 requires your employer consult with employees and their HSRs at every stage of the risk management cycle – when identifying hazards, when assessing the level of risk, when developing controls for hazards, and when reviewing those controls. The risk management cycle does not work very well when the people performing the work are excluded from the process.
Consult first with your DWG members and the HSRs of other DWGs who are affected by this issue – it is unlikely that this issue is only affecting your DWG, and a collective approach from all HSRs will send a strong message to management.
I am not sure how to prevent employers from perceiving requests around safety issues as a criticism or an attack, but if you want to start gently, I suggest a discrete conversation with them about their duty to provide a safe workplace and the requirements for consultation to ensure that their efforts to manage health and safety are the most effective. Don’t forget to make a note in your diary, or send a follow-up email to your employer, confirming what was said and what was agreed.
Asking to be consulted is a request to comply with a legal duty – employers who construe such a request as a criticism or an attack are likely to be uneducated about OHS legislation. There is a great publication from WorkSafe Guide to Part 7 - Employee representation handbook for workplaces that guides and advises employers on everything about OHS representation, including a section on what good consultation looks and sounds like – I recommend that all employers/managers have a copy - and a few in the staff lunch room is also a good idea along with our Getting OHS Representation Right - A Guide for Workers - OHS Reps booklet. When everyone knows the rules, it makes communicating about safety much less stressful or confrontational for all.
If a verbal request to be included in the risk assessment process is ignored, you can send a more formal request in writing – try our Consultation Email template. It clearly lays out the legal requirements of consultation. This is a very basic but integral part of how our OHS legislation works – without proper consultation there is no representation.
If consultation requests are ignored, or if the issue is that the risk assessments are fine but they are not followed when the task (excursion, camp, etc.) is executed, or that appropriate resources are not provided to enable compliance with the controls required by the risk assessment, I recommend contacting your union directly for support and guidance to resolve this issue.
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