Look out for your mates
Many people often think of workplace safety as something their employer should do for them. However, as an employee, you have a legal responsibility too.
In fact, you can actually be charged with ‘reckless endangerment.’
Under the 2004 OHS Act, the offence of reckless endangerment applies to everyone – an employer, a worker, a designer, manufacturer, supplier or installer, even a member of the public.
Section 32 of the Act states: “A person who, without lawful excuse recklessly engages in conduct that places or may place another person who is at a workplace in danger of serious injury is guilty of an indictable offence.” While the offence has a potential penalty of imprisonment of up to five years, the law is there to reinforce the age-old maxim of “think of others”.
It’s all tied in with the idea that we should look out for our mates, and do our best to make sure our own actions don’t cause harm.
Under Section 25 of the Act, you must:
- take reasonable care for your own health and safety
- take reasonable care for the health and safety of others who may affected by your acts or omissions
- cooperate with anything the employer does to comply with OHS requirements
- not ‘intentionally or recklessly interfere with or misuse’ anything provided at the workplace for OHS.
This applies to all workers including employees, trainees, apprentices or work experience students, volunteers, outworkers, contractors or sub-contractors, employees of a contractor or subcontractor, and employees of a labour hire company.
This article was previously published in the Well at Work Newsletter
