Page 42 - Print21 May-June 2020

Business Intelligence
Prison blues on
safety at work
Workplace health and safety is a serious obligation for print business owners and managers, with severe consequences for those who ignore or avoid their responsibilities, Gary Wilcox from Monit says.
In a world where technology
has befriended our business,
it’s no wonder the printing industry has embraced software products with such enthusiasm.
Today, the owners of printing businesses spend more time overseeing their business through
a computer screen than walking
the floor and talking to staff. From quoting, accounting, production
and payroll, to ordering and advertising. The list goes on with our unquenchable need for data.
So, when it comes to health and safety, we tend to think the same rules apply. Look for the cheapest tick and flick health and safety software and get the part-time admin person to do it. Simple.
Reality check. Now, don’t blame me for what you are about to read, I’m just the messenger.
The Human Rights Commission is now embedded in health and safety,
with increases in claims
of sexual harassment, bullying, stress, stalking, discrimination and the like. Criminal charges are now being laid against business owners for all types of physical and non- physical workplace health and safety (WHS) incidents – with devastating effects on the individual, their family, and their business.
Brodie’s Law is an amendment to the Victorian Crimes Act 1958, which makes serious bullying an offence punishable by a maximum penalty of 10 years’ imprisonment. The law is named after Brodie Panlock, a 19-year-old who committed suicide after being bullied at work.
Every state has either implemented or is debating manslaughter laws.
Victoria is the latest to introduce manslaughter laws with
a maximum penalty of 20 years’ imprisonment for natural person offenders (same as for Queensland and ACT) and a $16m fine for corporate offenders.
Victoria still retains an offence
(s 32) of recklessly endangering persons at workplaces. This attracts a maximum penalty of five years’ imprisonment or $291,420 fine for individual offenders or $3.238m fine for corporate offenders. 21
A checklist for employers
This legal checklist is for all businesses, big or small.
Review WHS management systems.
• Employers should undertake a comprehensive review of the efficacy of its WHS management systems and the allocation of appropriate responsibility for the performance of those systems.
Review WHS leadership and culture.
• An employer needs to be able to show that poor conduct is not authorised
or permitted by its overall culture or organisation.
Due diligence for directors and officers.
To protect themselves from personal liability, senior managers and directors will need be proactive and diligent in ensuring: • The organisation has in place appropriate systems to manage health and safety in the workplace.
• An active and inquisitive role is taken
in planning and actioning of health and safety initiatives.
• If the manager or director’s role does not directly involve them in implementation of these initiatives, they will make the decisions that allow for the appropriate measures to be taken, and they will take reasonable steps to ensure that these measures are taken.
• They know who has health and safety obligations and know the nature of those obligations, and will ensure those people have the authority and accountability to meet those obligations.
• The organisation has processes in place to collect and report relevant health and safety information to enable them to make proper decisions.
• The organisation has processes in place
that operate to enable employees to be consulted about health and safety matters and to provide input to management about hazards and risks, obligations and performance of WHS management.
• When they rely on other managers, experts and supervisors to collect, analyse and communicate safety information, they ensure the information is logical and credible and that the person giving the information is suitably qualified.
Mandatory jail time for a business owner charged with industrial manslaughter should come as a warning that the authorities have had enough of small business owners who demonstrate an ignorant, head-in-the-sand approach to the safety of their workers. If your interest got you this far, then keep going and start today.
42 Print21 MAY/JUNE 2020