The Government's Health and Safety at Work Amendment Bill has passed its first reading, offering obligation clarity for employers.
Yesterday’s passing of the first reading of the Health and Safety at Work Amendment Bill is the first step to helping to provide clarity around employers’ health and safety obligations, Retail NZ Chief Executive Carolyn Young said.
The proposed Bill, introduced by Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden, includes several changes that will provide a greater understanding to many retailers around what is required to meet their Health and Safety obligations.
“Several Retail NZ members have expressed confusion in the past around Health and Safety guidance and its appropriateness in their specific settings,” Young said.
“This Bill, if passed, would give greater certainty to businesses by providing tailored, industry-specific guidance and support through the updating and strengthening of Approved Codes of Practices (ACOPs).”
“The legislation would also mean small businesses would not be required to meet the same Health and Safety requirements as larger companies. We look forward to consulting on this further with our members, to help formulate our submission on this Bill,” Young added.
“We are encouraged that this Government has turned its focus to updating Workplace Health and Safety legislation, with staff and customer safety an issue retailers take seriously.”
“A major theme in the feedback we received from businesses was that they don’t know what they need to do to manage their risks and meet their obligations. I also heard concerns about a lack of guidance, regulations not keeping pace with best practice, and uncertainty about WorkSafe’s approach as the regulator arising due to inconsistency and heavy-handedness in punishment,” said Van Velden.
“I expect this will significantly help businesses to understand their responsibilities and give clarity about the actions they should take to protect their workers.”
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