Blog – Safety and Compliance Articles
Keep up to date with useful insights into health, safety and contractor management.
Is Your Employee Suffering from ‘Burnout’?
We’ve all felt stressed and overwhelmed at work. We live in an always-on society, with constant emails, text and push notifications alongside the pressure of meeting deadlines and delivering on expectations forces us to work harder, faster and smarter. It is this...
The Issue Resolution Process – A Vital Part of Contractor Management
It’s vital to create good relationships with everyone we work with, including employees, colleagues and in the context of this article, contractors. However, as good as those relationships may be, it is still likely that issues will arise. A disagreement can escalate...
When it comes to Workplace Safety, is Common Sense Sensible?
Recently, I posted an image on LinkedIn that displayed the quote “When it comes to safety, common sense is the friend of compliance” and asked for people’s thoughts. Over the next few hours, I received a tirade of comments that were ‘passionate’ to say the least. Many...
WHS Audits – The Who, What and Why
Introduction Workplace health and safety (WHS) audits are often dreaded, striking fear into managers and employees alike. But remember, audits aren’t trying to catch us out or expose our failings, they’re purpose is ultimately to help protect our workers. The health...
Hiring Contractors – With Great Rewards Come Great Risk
Hiring contractors has become commonplace for many organisations to fulfil both varying workloads and skill-specific requirements. In Australia, 23% or employers report engaging contract workers, of which 44% of cases are used in short-term, specialised projects. Now...
Honestly, is Your WHS Policy as Good as it Could be?
Policies are essential in the workplace as they clarify the standards expected of workers and help employers manage staff more effectively. As such, WHS policies are very important for most organisations, as they help define what is acceptable from a health and safety...
Your Brain’s ‘Auto-Pilot’ and its Effect on Health and Safety at Work
When we think about health and safety in the workplace, it’s easy to focus our efforts on processes, controls and compliance standards. The systems we put in place are logical and comprehensive that should work efficiently and according to design. However, what these...
Part 2 – The Responsibilities of an Officer – Are You Sure You’re Not One Under WHS Law?
The definition of an officer is stated clearly in the WHS Act. You are someone who makes significant business decisions and can alter the business's financial position. Who does that make you though? Are you a business owner, a director or perhaps a senior project...
Contractor Safety: Who is Responsible? You? Them?
It is common place for many organisations engage contractors to help perform essential business activities and skill-specific tasks. In fact, with around 986,000 people working as independent contractors in Australia, most business will involve a contractor at some...
Part 1 – The Responsibilities of An Officer – Due Diligence and Reasonably Practicable
Being an officer under WHS law is a significant responsibility in Australia. You have a legal duty to comply with WHS obligations and to take reasonably practicable steps towards compliance. That means continually and comprehensively ensuring that your workers,...
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