The Health and Safety in Employment Act NZ

Key Amendments 1992 and 2002

 

Section 6 | Employers to ensure safety of employees

Every employer shall take all practicable steps to ensure the safety of employees while at work; and in particular shall take all practicable steps to:

(a) Provide and maintain for employees a safe working environment; and

(b) Provide and maintain for employees while they are at work facilities for their safety and health; and

(c) Ensure that plant used by any employee at work is so arranged, designed, made, and maintained that it is safe for the employee to use; and

(d) Ensure that while at work employees are not exposed to hazards arising out of the arrangement, disposal, manipulation, organisation, processing, storage, transport, working, or use of things

i) In their place of work; or

ii) Near their place of work and under the employer's control; and

(e) Develop procedures for dealing with emergencies that may arise while employees are at work.

 

Section 7 | Identification of Hazards

(1) Every employer shall ensure that there are in place effective methods for

(a) Systematically identifying existing hazards to employees at work; and

(b) Systematically identifying (if possible before, and otherwise as, they arise) new hazards to employees at work; and

(c) Regularly assessing each hazard identified, and determining whether or not it is a significant hazard.

(2) Where there occurs any accident or harm in respect of which an employer is required by section 25(1) of this Act to record particulars, the employer shall take all practicable steps to ensure that the occurrence is so investigated as to determine whether it was caused by or arose from a significant hazard.

 

Section 8 | Significant hazards to employees to be eliminated if practicable

Where there is a significant hazard to employees at work, the employer shall take all practicable steps to eliminate it.

 

Section 9 | Significant hazards to employees to be isolated where elimination impracticable

 

Section 10 | Significant hazards to employees to be minimised, and employees to be protected, where elimination and isolation impracticable

 

Section 15 | Duties of employers to people who are not employees

Every employer shall take all practicable steps to ensure that no action or inaction of any employee while at work harms any other person.

 

Section 49 | Offences likely to cause serious harm

(3) Every person who commits an offence under this section is liable on conviction to:

(a) imprisonment for a term of not more than 2 years; or

(b) a fine of not more than $500,000; or

(c) both.

 

Section 56F | Infringement fees

(3) The fee to be specified by an inspector in an infringement notice for a failure to comply with section 7(1) must be not less than $800 and not more than $4,000 (as a multiple of $100).

 

Section 56I | Insurance against fines unlawful and of no effect

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