The Health and Safety Committee should be the backbone and driving force behind your company’s health and safety strategy and systems, and without a proactive Committee, your health and safety programmes won’t be as effective. Successfully implementing health and safety requires the efforts of, and input from, the Health and Safety Team; it can’t be done by the CEO or Health and Safety Manager alone.
In this article, we’ll look at the functions and characteristics of a proactive, highly effective Health and Safety Committee, and list the many benefits it brings to your organisation.
The Need for a Health and Safety Committee is Based on Company Size:
The Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Act 85 of 1993 states that where two or more Health and Safety Representatives are designated in the workplace, a Health and Safety Committee must be established. Your first Health and Safety Representative must be appointed when you have 20 or more employees. Thereafter, we use a ratio of 1:50 for the appointment of subsequent Representatives (that is, one Health and Safety Representative per 50 employees).
So, companies employing more than 50 employees will need to appoint a second Health and Safety Representative, and therefore will need to establish a Health and Safety Committee.
Composition of a Health and Safety Committee:
The OHS Act states that employer representation may not exceed employee representation in the Health and Safety Committee. In simple terms, this means that your Health and Safety Committee must have an equal or higher number of Health and Safety Representatives than Health and Safety Supervisors. This is a very important point, because it means that a correctly formed Health and Safety Committee truly represents the health and safety interests of employees.
The Health and Safety Committee should have the following committee members:
- Chairperson
- All Health and Safety Supervisors
- All Health and Safety Representatives
- Secretary or minutes-taker
In larger organisations, the Health and Safety Committee may include the following additional members:
- First Aider team leader
- Firefighting team leader
- Evacuation team leader
Co-opted member or visitor (Health & Safety Practitioner, and they do not have voting rights)
Health and Safety Committee Chairperson:
The Health and Safety Committee Chairperson is voted in and appointed during the first (or subsequent) Health and Safety Committee meeting. Any Committee member can be voted in by other members to be the Chairperson; however, it is usually a member of management (such as a Health and Safety Supervisor). The Chairperson is generally appointed for a two-year period.
Frequency of Health and Safety Committee Meetings:
The Health and Safety Committee can meet as often as necessary, but must meet at least once every three months. Attendance of all Committee members is mandatory, and the duty to attend Health and Safety Committee meetings must be stated in the appointment letters of both Health and Safety Representatives and Supervisors. Should any Committee member be unable to attend a meeting, they must supply a valid reason.
Health and Safety Committee Meeting Minutes:
Minutes must be taken of all Health and Safety Committee meetings. Committee members may choose to take turns to take minutes themselves, or they may ask a secretary or minutes-taker to perform this function.
Health and Safety Committee meeting minutes must be signed by the Committee Chairperson and the CEO, MD, or similar executive. As per the OHS Act, the CEO is ultimately responsible for health and safety in the organisation. While they are not required to attend Health and Safety Committee meetings, they are required to remain informed by reading and signing the meeting minutes.
Functions of a Health and Safety Committee:
Health and Safety Committees are formed to positively drive health and safety matters in the organisation and should have the full support of management. The primary functions of the Health and Safety Committee are to initiate, develop, promote, maintain, and review measures that will improve health and safety in the workplace.
Discuss the Health and Safety Budget:
The Health and Safety Committee may discuss the organisation’s allocated health and safety budget and suggest or request changes to support health and safety development.
Review Health and Safety Inspection Checklists:
Ideally, the Health and Safety Representatives should carry out their quarterly Health and Safety Inspections prior to the Health and Safety Committee meetings. The priority concerns should then be discussed at the meeting, and corrective actions decided upon.
Review Risk Assessments and the Risk Register:
The Health and Safety Committee must review risk assessments and check the risk register to make sure that all priority risks have been addressed and approved and appropriate risk control measures implemented.
Review Incident Reports:
It is essential that the Health and Safety Committee reviews all incident reports to ensure that the root causes have been identified and properly addressed to avoid reoccurrence of the incident across the entire workplace.
Plan Evacuation Drills:
The Health and Safety Committee is responsible for planning upcoming evacuation drills. To do this, members will agree on a date, discuss the proposed scenario, and advise Supervisors and Team Leaders/Coordinators to ensure that their emergency response team members are prepared for the drill. An evacuation drill report should also be generated to record the drill and document conformances and non-conformance.
Benefits of Having a Proactive Health and Safety Committee in your Organisation:
Through performing the functions listed above, proactive Health and Safety Committees offer the following benefits for organisations:
Reduced Incidents, Accidents, and Injuries:
Through reviewing quarterly Health and Safety Inspection Checklists, risk assessments, and risk registers, Health and Safety Committees are able to put action plans in place to address hazards and risks before incidents or injuries occur. Similarly, by reviewing incident and accident reports, Committees ensure that the root causes have been identified and effectively dealt with, thereby preventing recurrences. Importantly, the Health and Safety Committee ensures that corrective actions and risk control measures are implemented across the entire organisation, not just in the work area or department where the incident took place.
Financial Benefits:
Reducing incident and accident rates results in significant financial savings. Costly downtime, disruption, clean-up, absenteeism, etc., are all avoided, thanks to the proactive efforts of a well-functioning Health and Safety Committee.
Compliance with the OHS Act:
As outlined above, the OHS Act states that companies with two or more Health and Safety Representatives are legally required to establish a Health and Safety Committee. The H&S committee will also assist the company in achieving H&S legal compliance.
Improved Employee Morale:
Because employer representation is not allowed to exceed employee representation, Health and Safety Committees are an excellent forum for voicing employees’ health and safety needs, concerns, and opinions. Furthermore, the OHS Act specifically states that no employee may be victimized for acting in the interests of health and safety. This means that Health and Safety Representatives cannot be bullied by management when voicing employee concerns or requests. When employees feel that their voices are heard and valued by the Health and Safety Committee, morale is boosted and participation in health and safety programmes improves.
Better Health and Safety Communication:
Health and Safety Committees can develop and implement important health and safety communication programmes. For example, the Committee may choose to implement a company-wide awareness programme on avoiding slips and trips. The committee can also assist in developing a H&S employee induction program for new employees joining the company.
Up-to-date Team Organogram and Training:
The Health and Safety Committee is able to review the Health and Safety Team organogram and spot any gaps. They’re then able to initiate the process of appointing and training new Health and Safety Team members.
Accredited Health and Safety Training is Essential to the Success of your Health and Safety Committee
A Health and Safety Committee can only be effective if its members are trained and equipped to properly execute their roles as Health and Safety Representatives and Health and Safety Supervisors. View our fully-accredited Health and Safety training courses or contact Absolute Health Services for more information.
