Employers’ Responsibilities in Health and Safety as per ILO : An introduction

1. Employers shall be required to ensure that the workplaces, machinery, equipment, and processes under their control are safe and without risk to health.

2. Employers shall be required to ensure that the chemical, physical, and biological substances and agents under their control are without risk to health when the appropriate measures of protection are taken.

3. Employers shall be required to provide adequate protective clothing and protective equipment to prevent the risk of accidents or of adverse effects on health.

Point 10 of R164 (Recommendation) of ILO : ( Obligation placed upon Employer)

(a) to provide and maintain workplaces, machinery and equipment, and use work methods, which are as safe and without risk to health as is reasonably practicable;

(b) to give necessary instructions and training, taking account of the functions and capacities of different categories of workers;

(d) to institute organizational arrangements regarding occupational safety and health and the working environment adapted to the size of the undertaking and the nature of its activities;

(e) to provide, without any cost to the worker, adequate personal protective clothing and equipment which are reasonably necessary when hazards cannot be otherwise prevented or controlled;

(f) to ensure that work organisation, particularly with respect to hours of work and rest breaks, does not adversely affect occupational safety and health;

(g) to take all reasonably practicable measures with a view to eliminating excessive physical and mental fatigue;

(h) to undertake studies and research or otherwise keep abreast of the scientific and technical knowledge necessary to comply with the foregoing clauses

Summarizing the Employer’s Responsibility:

Employer's duty to provide:

( What are the employer responsibilities as per C155 and R164 ?)

Provide Safe System of Work (SSW) (ILO)
Provide Safe Process (ILO)
Provide Safe Plant, equipment and Machinery (ILO)
Provide Safe Place to Work( safe workplace) , access and egress; (ILO)
Provide safe working environment with adequate welfare facilities; (Provide basic welfare facilities, such as toilets, washing facilities and drinking water.) (ILO)
Provide safe use, handling, transport and storage of substances and articles; (ILO)
Provide adequate H&S Information (ILO) to employees (If applicable to others like self- employed , and their employees who are sharing the same workplace and parents of child employees, temporary workers and their contract agency, new and expectant mothers and young persons )
Provide adequate H&S Instruction (ILO)
Provide PPE free of cost (ILO)
Provide adequate & relevant H&S Training / (Provide free H&S training for workers) (ILO) / Provide Job Specific Training /Provide Induction Training
Provide Safe Chemical substances and agents (ILO)
Provide safe Physical substances and against (ILO)
Provide safe Biological substances and against (ILO)
Provide effective Supervision (ILO)Provide PPEs free of cost (ILO)
Make Organizational arrangement (ILO)
Provide adequate and Safe Work(Working) Hours (8 hours work) / To avoid giving excess workload or work pressure )
Provide adequate Rest Breaks (ILO)
Provide measure to avoid Mental Fatigue
Provide measure to avoid Physical Fatigue (Reduce Excessive physical & Mental Fatigue (ILO))
Keep Up-to-date with knowledge (ILO) / Undertake research to stay up-to-date
To update H&S Policy
To update H&S Procedures
To identify reasonably foreseeable risks
To provide Reasonably practicable control measures
To develop a written safety policy together with organisational and other arrangements (if there are five or more employees); (HSW Act)
Do Consultation with workers on H&S (HSW Act)
To do consultation with safety representatives and formation of safety committees where there are recognised trade unions. (HSW Act)
cooperate in H&S matters with other employers who share the same workplace; (HSW Act)
Obtain Employers’ Liability Compulsory Insurance and display the certificate. (HSW Act)
Ensure that the organisation has competent H&S advice available. This does not have to be an external consultant. (HSW Act) - employ (to be preferred) or contract competent persons to help them comply with health and safety duties; (MHSWR)
Undertake/review/update Suitable and Sufficient risk assessments on the business activities that include details of the required control measures. (HSW Act) -
To do specific Risk Assessment
Ensure that relevant actions are taken following the risk assessments to prevent accidents and ill-health. (HSW Act)
To avoid enforcement action
Display the H&S law poster or give workers a leaflet with the information. (HSW Act)
Report certain work-related accidents, diseases and dangerous occurrences to Legal/Enforcement Authority . (HSW Act)
Undertake preventative and protective measures on the basis of the principles of prevention (as specified in Schedule 1 to the MHSWR regulations)
put in place effective arrangements for the planning, organisation, control, monitoring and review of H&S measures in the workplace . Such arrangements should be recorded if there are five or more employees; (MHSWR)
Develop suitable emergency procedures. Ensure that employees and others are aware of these procedures and can apply them; (MHSWR)
Provide health surveillance for employees. (under certain circumstances, as outlined in MHSWR Regulation 6)

Employer's H&S Responsibilities Contravention ( Breach in Health And Safety duty): Contravention of Employer Responsibilities

What are the employer contravention as per C155 and R164 in his duties?

Did not Provide Safe System of Work (SSW) (ILO)
Did not Provide Safe Process (ILO)
Did not Provide Safe Plant, equipment and Machinery (ILO)
Did not Provide Safe Place to Work( safe workplace) , access and egress; (ILO)
Did not Provide safe working environment with adequate welfare facilities; (Provide basic welfare facilities, such as toilets, washing facilities and drinking water.) (ILO)
Did not Provide safe use, handling, transport and storage of substances and articles; (ILO)
Did not Provide adequate H&S Information (ILO) to employees (If applicable to others like self- employed , and their employees who are sharing the same workplace and parents of child employees, temporary workers and their contract agency, new and expectant mothers and young persons )
Did not Provide adequate H&S Instruction (ILO)
Did not Provide PPE free of cost (ILO)
Did not Provide adequate & relevant H&S Training / (Provide free H&S training for workers) (ILO) / Provide Job Specific Training /Provide Induction Training
Did not Provide Safe Chemical substances and agents (ILO)
Did not Provide safe Physical substances and against (ILO)
Did not Provide safe Biological substances and against (ILO)
Did not Provide effective Supervision (ILO)Provide PPEs free of cost (ILO)
Did not Make Organizational arrangement (ILO)
Did not Provide adequate and Safe Work(Working) Hours (8 hours work) / To avoid giving excess workload or work pressure )
Did not Provide adequate Rest Breaks (ILO)
Did not Provide measure to avoid Mental Fatigue
Did not Provide measure to avoid Physical Fatigue (Reduce Excessive physical & Mental Fatigue (ILO))
Not Kept Up-to-date with knowledge (ILO) / Undertake research to stay up-to-date
Did not update H&S Policy
Did not update H&S Procedures
Did not identify reasonably foreseeable risks
Did not provide Reasonably practicable control measures
Not developed a written safety policy together with organisational and other arrangements (if there are five or more employees); (HSW Act)
No Consultation with workers on H&S (HSW Act)
No consultation with safety representatives and formation of safety committees where there are recognised trade unions. (HSW Act)
Did not cooperate in H&S matters with other employers who share the same workplace; (HSW Act)
Did not Obtain Employers’ Liability Compulsory Insurance and display the certificate. (HSW Act)
Did not Ensure that the organisation has competent H&S advice available. This does not have to be an external consultant. (HSW Act) - employ (to be preferred) or contract competent persons to help them comply with health and safety duties; (MHSWR)
Did not Undertake/review/update Suitable and Sufficient risk assessments on the business activities that include details of the required control measures. (HSW Act) -
Did not do specific Risk Assessment
Did not Ensure that relevant actions are taken following the risk assessments to prevent accidents and ill-health. (HSW Act)
No action taken To avoid enforcement action
Did not Display the H&S law poster or give workers a leaflet with the information. (HSW Act)
Did not Report certain work-related accidents, diseases and dangerous occurrences to Legal/Enforcement Authority . (HSW Act)
Did not Undertake preventative and protective measures on the basis of the principles of prevention (as specified in Schedule 1 to the MHSWR regulations)
Did not put in place effective arrangements for the planning, organisation, control, monitoring and review of H&S measures in the workplace . Such arrangements should be recorded if there are five or more employees; (MHSWR)
Did not Develop suitable emergency procedures. Ensure that employees and others are aware of these procedures and can apply them; (MHSWR)
Did not Provide health surveillance for employees. (under certain circumstances, as outlined in MHSWR Regulation 6)