Hi Renata – We recently had a serious incident at our workplace but management refuses to consult with me. What can I do?
Following a serious incident your employer should have undertaken an investigation and a review of the controls with a view to preventing similar incidents occurring in the future. In doing so your employer MUST consult with HSRs of the affected DWG.
Section 35(1) of the OHS Act requires an employer to consult, so far as is reasonably practicable, with affected employees when:
- identifying or assessing hazards or risks to health or safety
- making decisions about the measures to control risks to health or safety
Section 35(4) makes it clear; if employees are represented by a HSR, the consultation must involve that HSR (with or without the involvement of the employees directly) - see here for more information.
Should your employer refuse to consult in a timely manner we suggest escalating your concerns under section 73 of the OHS Act, Issue Resolution, with your employer's nominated representative, and/or issuing a PIN for a breach of s.35.
Which option is preferable in your situation will depend on your workplace.
Further, your employer has obligations to HSRs in section 69 of the Act. To paraphrase: an employer, whose employees are members of a DWG must allow the HSR for that DWG access to information relating to actual or potential hazards, or the health and safety of members.
We suggest you exercise your powers as a HSR to produce the documents your employer has relating to the serious incident as well as any procedures dictating how they should be responding to incident reports or injuries.
You can learn more about your HSR rights and powers and your employers obligation to consult with you in our publication Getting OHS Representation Right - A Guide for Workers, and also in WorkSafe’s publication Guide to Part 7 - Employee representation handbook for workplaces.
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!