Everyone in the workplace is legally responsible for workplace safety. Every countries Employment Act requires that they work together to carry out health and safety duties at a place of employment.
Everyone must know what their duties are; have the authority, resources, and time to carry them out; and have required knowledge (education, training, and certification)
Duties Of Employers
The following are some of the responsibilities of an employer:
Provide a safe and healthy workplace;
Make sure that managers and supervisors are trained, supported, and held accountable for fulfilling their workplace health and safety requirements;
Oversee the health and safety performance of their managers and supervisors;
Make sure workers have the information, training, certification, supervision, and experience to do their jobs safely;
Ensure workers are not exposed to harassment in the workplace; and
Ensure that legal health and safety requirements are met.
Duties Of Supervisors
The following are some of the responsibilities of supervisors:
Make sure hazards are identified and proper steps are taken to eliminate the hazards or control the risks;
Inspect work areas and correct unsafe acts and conditions;
Instruct and coach workers to follow safe work procedures;
Ensure only authorized, competent workers operate equipment;
Ensure equipment is properly maintained;
Ensure the necessary personal protective equipment is provided to workers and used properly;
Ensure that workers under their direct supervision are sufficiently supervised; and
Ensure that workers under their direct supervision are not exposed to harassment at their workplace.
Duties Of Workers
The following are some of the responsibilities of workers:
Understand and comply with legislation and workplace health and safety requirements;
Follow safe work procedures;
Use safety equipment, machine guards, safety devices, and personal protective equipment;
Report unsafe acts and workplace hazards;
Report incidents (meaning accidents and dangerous occurrences), injuries, or illnesses immediately;
Work and act safely and help others to work and act safely
Three Basic Rights of Workers Workers play an important role in keeping each other safe on the job. A major part of injury prevention is ensuring each worker is aware of their legislated rights and responsibilities. The workers have three basic rights:
1. The Right to Know the hazards at work and how to control them; If an employer does not disclose what hazards exist in the workplace, all workers have the right to ask for this information. Hazards are anything that has the potential to cause an injury or illness.
2. The Right to Participate in finding and controlling workplace hazards;
Become involved in the occupational health committee (OSH) at work. Every workplace with 10 or more workers must have a worker/management OSH. High-hazard workplaces with five-to-nine workers must have an occupational health and safety (OSH) representative .
3. The Right to Refuse unsafe work that is believed to be unusually dangerous.
Workers cannot be disciplined or fired for exercising their right to refuse unsafe work that is believed to be unusually dangerous, which includes:
A danger that is not normal for the job (e.g., repairing a roof in dangerous winds);
A danger that would normally stop work (e.g., operating a forklift with a flat tire); or
A situation for which a worker is not properly trained, equipped, or experienced to do the work assigned (e.g., cleaning windows on a tall building with no fall protection equipment or training).