Occupational health and safety is not optional and it is not only for factories. Every employer in South Africa has statutory duties, and a small office, a shop, a salon and a workshop all fall within them.
This page sets out what the law actually requires of an employer, in the order it is usually implemented.
Business Requirements at a Glance
What an employer generally must do.
- Provide and maintain a safe working environment, so far as is reasonably practicable
- Conduct a risk assessment identifying the hazards of the workplace
- Make the required written appointments under the Act and its regulations
- Provide information, instruction, training and supervision to employees
- Provide and maintain the necessary personal protective equipment, at the employer’s cost
- Provide for emergencies — first aid, firefighting, evacuation and emergency procedures
- Establish a health and safety committee where the Act requires one
- Report incidents as the Act and its regulations require
- Register with the Compensation Fund under COIDA
Registration and Legal Requirements
The Occupational Health and Safety Act 85 of 1993 places a general duty on an employer to provide and maintain a working environment that is safe and without risk to the health of employees, so far as is reasonably practicable, and duties on employees to take reasonable care of themselves and others.
Section 16 appointments are the starting point. The chief executive officer carries the duty under section 16(1) and may assign it in writing under section 16(2) to a person in a position of authority. That assignment is a written appointment with real consequences, and it should be made deliberately rather than to whoever is available.
Other appointments follow from the regulations depending on the workplace — first aiders, firefighting personnel, health and safety representatives, incident investigators, and specialised appointments under the General Machinery Regulations, the Construction Regulations, the Electrical Installation Regulations and others. Establish which apply to your operation.
Health and safety representatives must be designated where the Act requires it, based on the number of employees, and a committee must be established where representatives are designated. Confirm the current thresholds with the Department of Employment and Labour.
Personal protective equipment is at the employer’s cost. Deducting the cost of required protective equipment from an employee’s remuneration is not permitted, and it is a common contravention.
Confirm the regulations applying to your workplace with the Department of Employment and Labour. The Act has many sets of regulations and which apply depends on what you do.
Documents and Ownership Information Required
What an employer needs in place.
- A written health and safety policy, where the Act requires one
- A documented risk assessment for the workplace
- Written appointment letters for every appointment made, signed and accepted
- Training records for every employee, including induction and task-specific training
- First aid equipment and appointed first aiders with current certificates
- Firefighting equipment, serviced, and appointed personnel
- An emergency evacuation plan with appointed marshals and recorded drills
- An incident register and reported incident records
- COIDA registration and a current letter of good standing
Tax, Licence and Compliance Requirements
Start with the risk assessment. It identifies what can hurt people in your specific workplace, and everything else — training, equipment, procedures, appointments — follows from it. A generic safety file bought from a supplier and never adapted is not a risk assessment.
Train and record it. Induction for every new employee, task-specific training for every hazardous task, and a signed record of each. Training that is not recorded did not happen as far as an inspection or an incident investigation is concerned.
Report incidents as required. The Act and its regulations prescribe when an incident must be reported to the Department of Employment and Labour and in what manner. Certain incidents must be reported and the scene not disturbed until authorised. Confirm the current requirements.
An inspector may enter and inspect and may issue prohibition, contravention or improvement notices. Comply with a notice within the period stated — failing to do so is a separate offence.
Non-compliance carries real consequences including fines and, in serious cases, imprisonment, and directors can be personally implicated where an offence was committed with their consent or connivance or was attributable to their neglect.
COIDA registration is separate and compulsory, and an unregistered employer remains directly liable for an injured employee’s compensation.
Process, Deadlines and Ongoing Obligations
Start with the risk assessment, then the appointments that follow from it, then training, equipment and emergency arrangements. That order works; starting with a bought safety file does not.
Review annually and after any change — new equipment, a new process, a new premises, a new hazard, or an incident. A risk assessment is a live document.
Involve employees. Health and safety representatives and a committee are not only legal requirements; the people doing the work know where the hazards are, and a committee that meets and records its meetings is the cheapest safety improvement available.
Keep the records. Appointments, training, inspections, maintenance, incident reports and committee minutes. In an investigation the records are the evidence that the duties were discharged.
Get free guidance. The Department of Employment and Labour publishes the Act and regulations at no cost and its inspectors provide guidance, and the legislation itself is short enough to read.
- Start with a risk assessment specific to your workplace
- Make the section 16(2) assignment deliberately and in writing
- Establish which regulations apply to what you actually do
- Make every appointment in writing and have it accepted
- Provide protective equipment at the employer’s cost, never deducted
- Designate health and safety representatives where required
- Train every employee and record every session
- Provide for first aid, firefighting and evacuation, and run drills
- Report incidents as the Act requires
- Register with the Compensation Fund under COIDA
Frequently Asked Questions
Does this apply to a small office?
Yes. The general duty applies to every employer, and a small office, shop or salon falls within it. What differs is which regulations apply and what the risk assessment finds.
Where do I start?
With a risk assessment specific to your workplace. Everything else — appointments, training, equipment, procedures — follows from what it identifies.
Can I charge employees for protective equipment?
No. Required personal protective equipment is at the employer’s cost, and deducting it from remuneration is a common contravention.
What happens if an inspector issues a notice?
Comply within the period stated. Failing to comply with a prohibition, contravention or improvement notice is a separate offence.
Duties, appointments, regulations, reporting requirements and penalties are set in the Occupational Health and Safety Act and its regulations and administered by the Department of Employment and Labour, and are revised. Confirm what applies to your workplace with the Department.