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Advice when Contracting
The majority of businesses in New Zealand at some point engage contractors. When contractors are engaged health and safety obligations can overlap. Whether it is engaging a cleaner for the office or hiring subcontractors to assist with a construction project - health and safety duties become shared.
All PCBUs involved have duties under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 (HSWA).
This Safety talk will illustrate different contractual relationships between parties, and provide examples of ways health and safety is built into contract management.
Key points are:
Consult, Co-operate and Co-ordinate with other PCBUs when working in a shared workplace or as part of a contracting chain.
You can’t contract out of health and safety duties
You should always build health and safety into contract management.
What you need to know
If you share duties with other PCBUs you must consult, co-operate with and
co-ordinate activities with all other PCBUs you share duties with, so far as is
reasonably practicable.
Where duties are shared, all PCBUs have a responsibility to meet those duties,
to the extent that they have the ability to influence or control the matter.
Self - Employed?
If a self-employed person is working for another PCBU, they both share duties as a PCBU.
If the self-employed person decides how their own work is done and creates and controls risks, they are considered to have the ability to influence or control the matter.
If the self employed person is working for another PCBU, and the PCBU decides what they do, and how and when they do it, then that PCBU is considered to have the ability to influence or control the matter.
Do you share H&S Duties?
PCBU’s that work together, either in a shared workplace or in a contracting chain,
will often share health and safety duties in relation to the same matter.
Shared Workplace
This is where several different contractors / businesses are working in the same place
(e.g. Construction Site, Event, Shopping Centre or Port) They will not usually share
contractual relationships with each other. More than one contractor may control or
influence the work onsite.
Contracting Chain
This is where several different contractors are all working together on the same project,
although not necessarily in the same workplace. Usually, one PCBU will have the most
influence and control over the work. These contractors need to enter into reasonable
arrangements with each other to make sure that everyone’s health and safety duties
are met.
(example: Florist engages a courier firm to collect product from their grower and deliver
it to their store)
What is expected?
There can be several different levels in a contracting situation; either in a
shared workplace, or in a contracting chain. See below an example of how a
contracting situation could look and the responsibility of each PCBU.
Lead PCBU Responsibilities :
To be health and safety leader
To set clear health and safety expectations and incorporate these into contracts with contractors
To work with designers to eliminate risks so far as is reasonably practicable, or minimise risks if they cannot be eliminated
To choose the best contractors and site managers for the job using prequalification
Check health and safety records of potential contractors
To put clear and effective reporting procedures in place so they can be confident all duties are being met
Set up clear framework for information sharing for the duration of the project
Lead Contractor Responsibilities
The Lead Contractor will likely have the most influence and control over the
workplace.
To possibly act as site manager - this would include being on-site at all times, and having an overview of the site
To hold high health and safety expectations of the contractors that they hire
To choose the best contractors for the job using prequalification
Check health and safety records of potential contractors
In charge of inductions on-site
In charge of communication about health and safety at the start of each day (pre-start talks)
Coordinate and communicate the on-site rules and procedures to everyone
who accesses the work site
Work with subcontractors to create a health and safety plan
Monitor their workers and/or subcontractors they hire
To put clear and effective reporting procedures in place so they can be confident all duties are being met
To make sure they have all of the required information from the lead PCBU
Ensure, as far as is reasonably practicable, that the health and safety of workers and other people are not put at risk by their work
What is expected? continued
Contractor Responsibilities :
To hold high health and safety expectations of the contractors that they hire
To choose the best subcontractors for the job using prequalification
Check health and safety records of potential subcontractors
Monitor their workers and/or subcontractors they hire
To put clear and effective reporting procedures in place so they can be confident all duties are being met
To make sure their workers and subcontractors have all of the required information, are aware of on-site rules and procedures, inductions, toolbox talks, safety plan and reporting procedures.
Ensure, as far as is reasonably practicable, that the health and safety of workers and other people are not put at risk by their work
Subcontractor Responsibilities :
Monitor their workers and/or subcontractors they hire
To put clear and effective reporting procedures in place so they can be confident all duties are being met
To make sure their workers and subcontractors have all of the required information, are aware of on-site rules and procedures, inductions, toolbox talks, safety plans and reporting procedures
Work closely with other contractors, including the lead contractor, to help manage risks
Ensure, as far as is reasonably practicable, that the health and safety of workers and other people are not put at risk by their work
Contractor Chain Common Shared Duties
Primary Duty of PCBU - Section 36, HSAW 2015
Managing Risk - Section 30, HSAW 2015
Worker Engagement, Participation and representation - Part 3, HSAW 2015
Notification - Section 56, HSAW 2015
First Aid - HSW General Risk and Workplace Management Regulations 2016
Emergency Plans - HSW General Risk and Workplace Management Regulations 2016
Working with other PCBUs
We recommend that you make a record of any discussions you have, and
agreements you reach around how work will be carried out.
There are four main points to remember about overlapping duties:
You have a duty to consult, cooperate and coordinate activities with all other PCBUs you share overlapping duties with, so far as is reasonably practicable
You can enter into reasonable agreements with other PCBUs to make sure everyone’s health and safety duties are met
The more influence and control your business has over a workplace or a health and safety matter, the more responsibility you are likely to have
Need Assistance?
For more information regarding Overlapping Duties or Contractor
Management please contact our team or check out WorkSafe’s PCBUs
Working Together Guidelines at worksafe.govt.nz
OHS Consultants have a number of resources available to make this process
easier for your team or if you want someone to do it for, we are happy to
discuss consultant assistance in this area.
Please contact us if you require any advice or check out our website:
https://www.ohsconsultants.nz
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