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Changes to the Health and Safety Landscape What will these mean?
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ComplyWith NZ health and safety presentation

Nov 13, 2014

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ComplyWithNZ

 
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  • 1. Changes to the Health and Safety Landscape What will these mean?

2. Reflections on what good health and safety practices look like The drivers for change Current landscape Outline of pending changes What are likely to be the impacts? Overview 3. What Does it Look Like? 4. 90 over 5 Nile Uganda Zambesi Zimbabwe Rafting minutes minutes 5. 0 30 Nile Uganda Zambesi Zimbabwe Rafting deaths per year deaths per year 6. Regulator (Department of Labour) considered Pike River to be compliant Subsequent inquiry has shown massive non-compliance with safety regs Culture focussed on hitting production targets Board not engaged on safety issues No accountability able to be traced through to regulator, management or directors Striking Features of Pike River Disaster: 7. Health and Safety in New Zealand 8. A New Regulator Landscape WorkSafe New Zealand (WorkSafe) Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) Changes So Far 9. The Good Governance Practices Guideline for Managing Health and Safety Risks (issued by the IoD and MBIE) Best practice guidance for Directors in the H&S space Highlights case studies of successful turn arounds in Health and Safety culture Modelled on best practice under Australian Legislation New Guidance for Directors 10. A new Health and Safety Act The Health and Safety Reform Bill has been introduced to Parliament is based on the Australian Model Work Health and Safety Act and is expected to create the new Health and Safety at Work Act by April 2015. This Act will: Place greater obligations and legal requirements on managers and company directors to manage risks and keep their workers safe. Require greater worker participation so workers are more involved in health and safety in their workplace. Establish stronger penalties, enforcement tools, graduated offence categories and court powers. The Changes to Come 11. Person conducting a business or undertaking Very Broadly defined Aim is to ensure that duties lie with those best placed to control health and safety risks Will often have multiple businesses and therefore multiple PCBUs involved in work at the same location Key New Concept PCBU 12. Requirement on those in governance roles to proactively manage health and safety Imposed on Officers; which include directors, CEs and people making decisions affecting all of (or a large part of) the business Officers need to understand their business operations and the risks associated with those need to eliminate/minimise risks to health and safety so far as is reasonably practicable They also need to ensure the PCBU has processes for complying with its H&S duties (AND it is carrying out those processes) Due Dilligence Duty 13. Current law requires Directors to have participated in, contributed to, or acquiesced to breaches of Act in order to be prosecuted. Could incentivise Directors not to take any part in H&S management Pike River Directors had a lack of involvement or knowledge and could not be prosecuted In contrast, the sole director of the company operating the Easy Rider vessel could not disclaim responsibility The Big Difference for Directors 14. Is on the role of Directors to set the tone and shape culture The Increasing focus 15. A Worker is a person carrying out work in any capacity for PCBUs. Intended to capture contractors and ensure that obligations cannot be contracted away. Upstream parties supplying goods and services will have more explicit obligations. The Obligations are Wider 16. Worker participation 17. New Penalties and powers 18. What is reasonably practicable? What level of resourcing is sufficient/ IoDs concerns about specialist PCBUs Scope for Confusion 19. Complex network of Leg 20. Complywiths part Your views? What works to build the system? Being Informed and Building Culture 21. At the end of the day, boards and their directors are not omniscient, nor are they infallible, even if the majority are honest, diligent and generally competent. Corporate governance structures and cultural practices are designed to ensure the prospect of sound decisions being made through due and proper process, and the application of reasonable acumen and rational business judgement, consistent with the information then reasonably available, advice taken (as appropriate), reasonable assessment of the potential risks and rewards involved and the corporations strategic objectives and values. Title? EQUALS Life can be risky. You need to act accordingly 22. Calculated Risk 23. Thank you