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COMMUNICATION & CONSULTATION

Consultation and communication can take many forms. Be clear in the difference between:

  • Consultation: meaningful discussion, advice and receiving and giving of opinion and ideas.
  • Communication: dissemination of information, conversing between parties and the sharing of information.

There are legal requirements relating to workplace communication and consultation, and these must be considered when deciding upon the need for and management of a safety committee.

The Employer shall ensure that a system of consultation and communication is established, implemented and maintained. The system should incorporate mechanisms to ensure that return-to-work and OHS information is correct and made available to internal and external stakeholders.

Consultation between employers and employees is an essential part of managing health and safety in the workplace.

Employers need to review the effectiveness of the consultation and communication mechanisms in order to know they are working effectively.

Processes will need to include the reviewing of reports on injuries, lost days, etc, analysis of these and feedback to employees for comment.

What you need to do:

  1. Decide on the most suitable model for consultation and communication after checking the legal and regulatory compliance requirements.
  2. Seek feedback from employees to get agreement for your model.
  3. Document the structure, roles and responsibilities relating to the Communication and Consultation Strategy.
  4. Identify literacy and language issues and develop a mechanism for ensuring employees are being included.
  5. Identify training needs of the persons nominated for Committees or other roles, and initiate training if it is not already done.

Accountabilities and Responsibilities

There are legal ramifications to taking responsibility for safety and injury management in the workplace. Much of this is dictated by legislation, some is optional. It is important that job descriptions identify what a person is actually "accountable for" and what they are "responsible for doing".

Job descriptions must spell out this information, however it must also be available to all employees in the workplace.

It is important that a matrix is developed in line with the job descriptions and that this matrix is available at all workplaces. It MUST be readily available. It acts as a line of communication.

The job positions indicated on this matrix may be different to your company. Change them to suit your needs.

Re-align the accountabilities and responsibilities according to your needs, BUT DO NOT delete any as they are all an expectation of the current legislative requirements.

As you develop more procedures you will add responsibilities and accountabilities to this matrix. It will grow as your system grows (and your job descriptions may also change).

If possible and practical, put a copy of this matrix in your company "Induction Pack". As a minimum, it must be supplied to any person that holds a management or supervisory role, as there are serious implications if they do not meet their obligations.