October is Safe Work Month and is an important time for businesses to review their Workplace Health and Safety procedures and processes and to reflect on the safety of their staff and workplaces.

Whatever the industry or workplace, every organisation can join Safe Work Month and take steps to keep people safe and healthy at work, including:  

• Being informed: Staying up to date with the laws, rules and regulations that apply and create the duties and responsibilities of employers, employees and contractors. It is vital that both employers and employees take steps to stay informed and up to date;

• Auditing Hazards and Risks and implementing risk/hazard mitigation strategies: Identifying hazards and risks is a key step for both employers and employees and involves finding thing or situations that may cause harm. Once a hazard or risk is identified, it is imperative that steps be taken to minimise or remove the risk or hazard. Risk and hazard assessments should be conducted regularly;

• Training and consultation: Employers and employees must all work together to ensure the safety and wellbeing of others and the workplace. It is vital that staff be trained and consulted with every step of the way and includes being involved when identifying hazards and assessing the risks that the work or workplace present and when proposing changes to the workplace which may affect WHS; and

• Being prepared for emergencies: Employers need to have plans and processes in place to appropriately respond to emergencies, injuries and incidents in the workplace. This includes (but is not limited to) having staff trained in fire and emergency management, having procedures in place for incident/injury reporting and return to work management;

• Keeping staff wellbeing front of mind: Employers and employees need to remember that safe workplaces isn’t just about injuries and incidents, it also includes staff health and wellbeing. It is important to remember that everyone’s physical and psychological wellbeing should also be a priority.

There are a wide range of free resources available through WorkSafe Queensland and Safe Work Australia and at Enterprise Legal, we have a dedicated Workplace Relations team that is here to assist and keep your workplace safe and informed.

If you would like to discuss how we can assist you with your Workplace Health and Safety obligations, contact EL's Principal Workplace Relations Advisor Amie Mish-Wills:

☎️ (07) 4646 2425

✉️ Submit an Online Request

In a first for Queensland, Mr Jeffrey Owen of Owen’s Electric Motor Rewinds has become the first individual to be charged with industrial manslaughter under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld) (the 'Act').

Tragically in July 2019, a worker at the Owen's Electric Motor Rewinds site was fatally crushed by a portable generator that was being unloaded by a forklift. It is alleged that the forklift directly flipped as a result of Mr Owen overloading the forklift.

This is the first prosecution of an individual for industrial manslaughter in the state of Queensland and if convicted, Mr Owen faces a maximum penalty of 20 years' imprisonment.

The offence of industrial manslaughter was included in the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld) (WHS Act), as well as the Electrical Safety Act 2002 (Qld) and Safety in Recreational Water Activities Act 2011 (Qld) and is defined as negligent conduct that causes, or substantially contributes to, the death of a worker, and a prosecution may be brought against a body corporate or individual senior officer.

It carries a maximum penalty of over $10 million dollars for a company, or 20 years’ imprisonment for a senior officer and was introduced in 2017 following increased numbers of workplace fatalities.

Industrial manslaughter is subject to the same guidelines and standards as criminal manslaughter and criminal negligence under the Criminal Code (Qld) 1899 and the same defences for criminal manslaughter are also available, excluding the defence of ‘accident’.

Organisations and their most senior directors and supervisors will face severe consequences should one of their workers be fatally injured on the job and it is vital that appropriate steps are taken to ensure the safety and wellbeing of those in the workplace. This was highlighted in the Queensland District Court case of R v Brisbane Auto Recycling Pty Ltd & Ors [2020] QDC 113 where a fine of $3 million was imposed on a company for industrial manslaughter and his Honour Judge Rafter SC stated:

“The sentences imposed should make it clear to persons conducting a business or undertaking, and officers, that a failure to comply with obligations under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld) leading to workplace fatalities will result in severe penalties.”

For guidance and support on Workplace Health and Safety compliance and prosecutions, contact Enterprise Legal’s Workplace Relations team today:

☎️ (07) 4646 2621

✉️ Submit an Online Request