New Guide to Help Businesses Prepare for Health & Safety Reform in New Zealand

Businesses can get a head start on complying with the new health and safety laws expected to come into effect in New Zealand later this year.

New Zealand is currently reviewing the Health and Safety Reform Bill, which aims to reduce the country’s high rates of workplace accidents and death.

A briefing paper written by Minter Ellison Rudd Watts and commissioned by the International SOS Foundation outlines what the changes will mean for companies and what areas of their processes and policies should to be reviewed.

Michael Gardner, Regional Managing Director for International SOS, said:
“The Reform Bill has a strong emphasis on prevention and accountability – it essentially legalises a company’s duty of care to its employees.

While the focus is on workplace safety in New Zealand, companies with expatriate staff living overseas and frequent business travellers need to consider how these laws may be applied to incidents that occur beyond our borders.

People travelling for work must be afforded the same duty of care as those in your office or worksite at home in regards to preventing exposure to health or safety risks.”

The new Bill follows on from other reforms in the health and safety arena such as the introduction of WorkSafe New Zealand, the new health and safety regulator.

Key reforms under consideration include:

• Introduction of a single duty category entitled “persons conducting a business or undertaking” broadening the current definitions.
• Removal of the distinction between employees, contractors and other workers.
• Requirement to take “reasonably practicable steps” to ensure the safety of workers.
• Introduction of a new and comprehensive duty on directors and officers to exercise due diligence.
• Personal responsibility of directors and officers for ensuring due diligence is undertaken with harsher penalties including fines of up to $3 million for companies and $600,000 for individuals, and up to five years imprisonment for individuals.

Mr Gardner continued:
“Company directors and officers should now be thinking what they need to do to comply with the new legislation when it comes into force.

Practicable steps include reviewing and updating existing internal policies and processes, and considering whether you’re doing all you can be to ensure the health and safety of your business travellers. Don’t wait until the last minute because policies take time to implement.”

Key figures

– There were 51 workplace fatalities in 2013 in New Zealand[1]
– 1 in 10 workers are injured each year[2]
– Around 200,000 ACC claims made each year for costs associated with workplace injuries and illnesses2
– Workplace injuries and illnesses cost an estimated $3.5 billion each year (almost 2% of New Zealand’s GDP)[3]

To download the paper: http://go.internationalsos.com/Workplace_Health_Safety_Briefing_Paper_Page_Download.html

ENDS

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