Occupational health and safety: the basics every employer must have in place

At a glance

What it is: The legal duty to give employees a safe and healthy workplace

Who it applies to: Every employer, whatever the size of the business

Minimum steps: A risk assessment, a health and safety representative, and incident records

Reporting: Certain serious incidents must be reported to the Department of Employment and Labour

Enforcement: Inspectors can issue notices, stop work, and prosecute

What it is

The Occupational Health and Safety Act places a duty on every employer to protect the people who work for them. It is not limited to factories: an office, a shop, a workshop and a building site all carry duties. The law expects you to identify the risks in your own workplace, and to manage them.

The important point: health and safety is judged after an accident, when it is too late to fix. The documents that prove you took reasonable steps are the ones that matter.

Who this affects

Every employer

Even a small business must assess its risks and have a way of reporting incidents. The depth of what you need grows with the hazards you create.

Site and factory employers

Construction, mining, manufacturing and logistics carry heavier duties — written assessments, appointed officers, and documentation that must be ready for inspection.

Questions to ask first

Have you done a documented risk assessment of your workplace?

Do you have a health and safety representative, or a committee where required?

Are incidents and injuries recorded, and are serious ones reported?

Do employees have the protective equipment and training their tasks need?

Could you produce your safety documents today if an inspector arrived?

What it costs to ignore

Inspectors can issue improvement or prohibition notices, stop work, and prosecute. After an accident, the absence of a risk assessment and records can expose directors and managers to personal liability — and it can also breach COIDA conditions.

Steps to get the basics in place

1. Do a documented risk assessment that matches your actual workplace.

2. Appoint a health and safety representative (or committee where required), and train them.

3. Provide the protective equipment and training each task needs.

4. Record incidents and near-misses, and report serious ones in time.

5. Keep your documents inspection-ready, so you can produce them on demand.

Beyond the basics: reporting and records

The OHS Act requires certain incidents — serious injuries, dangerous occurrences and fatalities — to be reported to the Department of Employment and Labour within set time limits. Reporting is separate from any COIDA claim.

Keep records of risk assessments, training, inspections and incidents. After an accident, these documents are what show you took reasonable steps.

Health and safety failures can also count against you commercially: tender panels and insurers may ask about your safety record.

If you are a foreign-owned company or employ foreign nationals

The duties apply to every employer, regardless of ownership. A South African subsidiary of a foreign group has the same obligations as a locally owned business.

Everyone who works on your site is protected, including foreign nationals and contractors' staff.

Because safety compliance feeds into tenders, inspections and insurance, it sits alongside your Letter of Good Standing and COIDA obligations.