Hi Renata – Our employer doesn’t follow any of the rules around forklifts. We have old forklifts with no lights or beepers, everyone is asked to drive them, and there are often close calls with workers. What can we do?
Your employer has a duty under s.21 of the OHS Act to provide a safe workplace, including safe plant, equipment and systems of work. Under the OHS Regulations there are specific requirements for items of plant, including forklifts.
Forklift operators are required to undertake training to obtain a high-risk licence. Whilst there are very limited circumstances where an unlicenced operator can use a forklift under direct supervision of a licenced operator, this usually plays out in the context of forklift training. Your employer must comply with the licencing requirement. You can find more information about mobile equipment safety at WorkSafe’s Forklift legal duties page, and also on our OHS Reps page Forklift Safety.
In Victoria, reversing alarms are not explicitly mandated by law for forklifts as they may not be appropriate in every workplace. However, under our OHS Act and Regulations, employers are required to ensure a safe working environment, which includes minimising risks associated with forklift operations.
Measures to ensure safety around forklifts may include the use of reversing alarms, especially in environments where visibility is poor or where there are pedestrians. While not explicitly required, the use of reversing alarms can be part of the risk control measures to comply with the general duty to ensure a safe environment and safe systems of work.
If your employer argues that it is not reasonably practicable to use audible alarms, they need to demonstrate how they are providing a safe work environment. Another control, for example, may be flashing lights.
Where mobile equipment and people share space, your employer is required to develop and maintain a traffic management plan. WorkSafe provides guidance in the development of TMPs at their Traffic management | WorkSafe Victoria page.
Your best tool for ensuring that your employer provides a workplace that is safe and without risks to health is through representation. Employee representation in the form of health and safety representatives (HSRs) and union membership can help to balance the power differences between employers and employees. When you have an HSR they can use their HSR rights and powers to ensure that your employer consults with employees, controls hazards and resolves safety issues.
You can learn more in our Getting Representation Right booklet or in WorkSafe’s 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!