One of the key features of the new WHS laws is the move away from employment relationship. The laws not dictate that a person conducting a Business or Undertaking (PCBU), rather than just the employer owes the primary duty of care to each of its workers. Also a recognised change is the meaning of the term ‘worker’. It is now not limited to just the employees. It also covers contractors, subcontractors and their employees. The new laws also put a positive duty on officers to exercise due diligence in insuring their business or undertaking complies with the new laws. If this duty is breached, it can result in up to a $600,000 fine and/or five years imprisonment. Dalton-Brown states that it follows that officers today should be ready to demonstrate to an inspector how they are undertaking their personal duties an officer, including how their organisations are ensuring the safety of each worker including contractors and subcontractors. He also stated that the new definition of the word ‘worker’ places directors and company officers at risk as organisations are attempting to track thousands of documents using antiquated manual methods with no increase of budget or resource.

Dalton-Brown and Reaburn said you should ask management before your next board meeting for a report on supplier compliance to help assess how your organisation is performing under the new WHS laws. They said the report should contain:

• A list of all certificates being tracked i.e. public liability insurance, workers comp, trade and high risk work licences etc.
• A compliance rating or each supplier answering questions like are all its certificates current and up to date?
• A policy compliance of each supplier answering questions such as  do all suppliers match or exceed your internal policies?
• A list of noncompliant suppliers detailing expired and missing certificates.

Dalton-Brown said that if your organisation can’t put together this information within half a day, chances are your business doesn’t have the correct information.

Reaburn said that directors should follow up on the report swiftly asking the following questions to help assure compliance.

• How often do we audit a supplier?
• What is the total number of certificates we collected and track?
• What systems do we have in place to track supplier compliance?
• How long did the report take to compile? If it was going to take more than half a day, how long will it take?

 

Original article from www.companydirectors.com.au