COVID-19 BRIEFING FOR HEALTH & SAFET Y REPS
ABOUT THIS BRIEFING This briefing is being provided to: – update Qld HSRs on the WHS implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on workplaces – discuss appropriate ways to manage the risk of exposure to COVID- 19 in workplaces – discuss your particular concerns for your workplace – develop a Qld HSR network for communicating about WHS issues during the COVID-19 pandemic
WHAT WE’LL COVER • Legal obligations to manage the risk of COVID-19 in workplaces • The risk management framework, hierarchy of controls, and how to develop control measures for different workplaces • Rights of HSRs to minimise the risk of COVID-19 in workplaces
LEGAL OBLIGATIONS OF A PCBU/EMPLOYER • A PCBU/employer has the primary duty under the WHS Act to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that workers and other persons are not exposed to health and safety risks arising from the business or undertaking. – This includes exposure to the risk of COVID-19. • Workers also have a duty to take reasonable care for their own health and safety and that they do not adversely affect the health and safety of other persons. Workers must also comply with any reasonable instruction and cooperate with any reasonable policy or procedure relating to health and safety at the workplace.
EMPLOYERS DUTY OF CARE A PCBU/employers’ duty of care includes (among other things): – providing and maintaining a work environment without the risk of exposure to COVID-19 – providing and maintaining safe systems of work that eliminate or minimise exposure risk to COVID-19 – the safe use, handling and storage of plant, structures and substances – providing adequate facilities for the welfare at work of workers in carrying out work for the business or undertaking, including ensuring access to those facilities – providing information, training, instruction or supervision necessary to protect all persons from risks to exposure to COVID-19 – that the health of workers and the conditions at the workplace are monitored for the purpose of preventing illness or injury of workers arising from the conduct of the business or undertaking [ WHS Act s 19(3)].
REQUIREMENTS TO CONSULT HSR’S • A PCBU must consult, so far as is reasonably practicable, with workers who carry out work for the PCBU who are (or are likely to be) directly affected by COVID-19 as a WHS matter. • Consultation involves sharing of information, giving workers a reasonable opportunity to express views and taking those views into account before making decisions on health and safety matters [ WHS Act s 47]. • Consultation must involve a HSR where workers are represented by a health and safety representative [ WHS Act s 48]. YOUR WORKPLACE: • Have you been consulted about control measures for your workplace for COVID-19? • Have you consulted with your work group to take their views into account?
SHARED DUTIES • Where there is more than one PCBU for a workplace, they must consult, cooperate and coordinate activities with each other in relation to the same matter, so far as is reasonably practicable [ WHS Act s 46]. For example: where there are multiple employers sharing the same building, the building owner and all of the employers must consult, cooperate and coordinate their activities in relation to minimising the spread of COVID-19. YOUR WORKPLACE: • Ask for a copy of the procedures that have been put in place.
RISK MANAGEMENT CYCLE • Identify the hazard • Assess the risk • Develop and implement control measures – hierarchy of controls • Review control measures • While we have never experienced a pandemic like COVID-19 before, you should still treat managing the risk of exposure to COVID-19 like any other hazard/risk.
COVID-19 IS A WORKPLACE HAZARD WHA WHAT I IS S COVI VID-19? 9? WHAT A WHA ARE E THE SYM SYMPTOMS? • COVID-19 is a new illness that can • Symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19) affect your lungs and airways. It's are coughing, a sore throat, fatigue, caused by a virus called coronavirus. high temperature/fever and shortness of breath. • Use the Australian Government’s COVID-19 Symptom Checker: • In more severe cases, infection can https://www.health.gov.au/resources/a cause pneumonia with severe acute pps-and-tools/healthdirect- respiratory distress. coronavirus-covid-19-symptom- • Phone: 13 HEALTH (13 43 25 84). checker.
IDENTIFY THE HAZARD • A PCBU/employer has a duty to identify reasonably foreseeable hazards that could give rise to risks to health and safety in the workplace [ WHS Reg s 34]. • Human coronavirus strains are usually spread from an infected person to other people close to that person through contaminated droplets spread by coughing or sneezing, or by contact with contaminated hands, surfaces or objects. • Studies suggest that coronaviruses (including preliminary information on the COVID-19 virus) may persist on surfaces for a few hours or up to several days. This may vary under different conditions (e.g. type of surface, temperature or humidity of the environment). Questions for your workplace: – What cleaning and hygiene procedures are in place for surfaces? – What types of other hazards may be present that could increase the risk of transferring the virus e.g. money, paper etc?
ASSESS THE RISK The risk of COVID-19 needs to be assessed just like any other hazard. What is the likelihood of people What are the consequences? contracting the virus from the workplace? Based on current advice governments are advising people to stay at home unless they are essential workers and for everyone to practice social distancing measures.
WORKERS WITH A HIGHER RISK • Everybody is at risk of contracting COVID-19 so you need to protect yourself and others. • Older people over the age of 60, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island people over the age of 50, are at greater risk of more serious illness with COVID-19. • Other people at risk include: – people with medical conditions such as respiratory illnesses, people with chronic lung disease or moderate to severe asthma – people who have serious heart conditions – people who are immunocompromised including cancer treatment – people of any age with severe obesity (body mass index [BMI] >40) or certain underlying medical conditions, particularly if not well controlled, such as those with diabetes, renal failure, or liver disease might also be at risk Questions for your workplace: – How many workers are at higher risk of contracting the virus? – Is the work essential and can it be done from home?
THE HIERARCHY OF CONTROLS • An employer has a duty to eliminate a risk unless it is not reasonably practicable to do so. • Where it is not reasonably practicable to do so, the employer must minimise the risk by applying the hierarchy of controls [ WHS Act s 17; WHS Reg ss 35, 36]. 1) Can the hazard giving rise to the risk be substituted with something that gives rise to a lesser risk? 2) Can the hazard be isolated from workers/others who may be exposed to it? 3) Are there engineering controls? If the risk still remains the employer must: 4) What administrative controls are there to minimise the risk of the hazard? 5) What PPE can be used to minimise the risk? • Remember administrative controls and PPE should only be used in conjunction with a higher level control.
ELIMINATION Working remotely/from home: • Wherever possible, the Government is advising people to stay at home. • In a workplace context, this means that wherever possible workers should be encouraged to work from home to minimise the risk of the virus spreading. – Only essential work that cannot be done from home should continue in the workplace. Questions for your workplace: • What arrangements have been agreed for workers to work from home? • What communication processes are in place between the workplace and workers working from home? • Are there safe work practices being developed/implemented? • Is there a working from home WHS policy?
SUBSTITUTION Can a hazard giving rise to the risk of spreading COVID-19 be substituted for something less hazardous? FOR EXAMPLE: • Remove the distribution of paper documents from the workplace and use electronic materials only. • Where workers are required to be in close contact in a vehicle with others, consider limiting the number to two with one driver and the other worker/passenger in the rear seat. • Organise for contactless deliveries i.e. leave deliveries outside homes without needing to sign. • Implement contactless payment options.
ISOLATION • Can a hazard giving rise to the risk of spreading COVID-19 be isolated from people to prevent exposure? • All workplaces must implement safe distancing measures i.e. there should be a minimum of 1.5 metres between people and a restriction on the number of people within a designated area applying a 4 sqm rule. FOR EXAMPLE: • If a workspace is 12 sqm there should only be 3 people in the area at any one time with 1.5 distance between them. • Introduce screens and barriers to ensure safe distances. • Restrict access to work areas – workers, clients and visitors (phone, skype contact instead of F2F).
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