Staff health and safety deadline

The country's employers have until early November to put in place employee participation systems in their workplaces. Under amendments to the Health and Safety in Employment Act, which came into force in May this year, all employers must provide reasonable opportunities for employees to participate in programmes to improve health and safety in the workplace.

For employers of more than 30 people, this means they must develop a formal employee participation system, as must any employer who is requested to do so by a staff member or union representative.

"Employee participation is vital if we are to improve our workplace health and safety," Labour Minister Margaret Wilson said. "We will only get real change when everyone in our workplaces takes ownership of health and safety responsibilities.

Wilson said when it came to employee participation systems one size did not fit all. "Employer and employees must develop a system in their particular workplace which manages health and safety in ways that makes sense to them and is effective."

Workplaces experiencing difficulty agreeing on an employee participation system should approach the Department of Labour's Employment Relations Service for free assistance, she said.

ACC recorded 85 claims for fatal work-related injuries in 2001-2002

Health and Safety in Employment Act