Management

The health and safety of employees are not simply the responsibility of the business owner - everyone has a role.

As a Person Conducting a Business or Undertaking (PCBU) the owner, employer and any level of management - you

are legally obliged to protect the health, safety and welfare of your workers and other people who could be adversely

affected by work carried out by your business.

This is the formal outline:

Duties of a Person Conducting a Business or Undertaking (PCBU)

WHS Act: s19

Primary duty of care:

A PCBU has the primary duty of care to ensure the health and safety of workers while they are at work in the business or undertaking.

A PCBU is also responsible for ensuring work carried out does not carry risk to the health and safety of others.

This means the PCBU must:

• Provide and maintain a safe work environment;

• Provide and maintain safe plant and structures;

• Provide and maintain safe systems of work;

• Ensure the safe use, handling and storage of plant, structures and substances;

• Provide adequate facilities (and ensure access is maintained);

• Provide instruction, training, information and supervision; and

• Monitor the health of workers and conditions at the workplace.

Duties of PCBU – involved in the management of or control of workplaces

WHS Act: s20

The PCBU of the workplace must ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that the workplace, the means of entering

and exiting the workplace and anything arising from the workplace are without risks to the health and safety of any person.

In brief it means you cannot escape your responsibilities – it is not solely the Directors or Owners who have

responsibilities. As a Manager you need to adhere to the requirements as detailed above. Saying “the worker should have

known better” or “I just take orders from the owners/directors” is not a sufficient defence. The Team at CSA recognise the

responsibilities this places upon you and also the amount of time it takes to properly conduct these requirements. That is

why we work with you and your team, Supporting You – In Person -On Site , to ensure not only is everything safe but it

also fits in with the uniqueness of your businesses operations, as a generic program won’t fit all businesses.