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Introduction Training Employer Employee Law Risk assessment Further information Acknowledgments Documents
Important Notice

Know your responsibilities as an employer

As an employer you have duties under the Regulations to protect your employees from risk of work-related musculoskeletal disorders. These duties extend to your staff and any contractors.

Health and safety is up to you. Workplace injuries may lead to WorkCover claims, increased premiums, other costs (when staff are injured efficiencies drop away) and poor morale.

The Regulations require you to:

• identify the risks in your workplace that involve hazardous manual handling
• assess the risk of musculoskeletal disorders associated with these tasks
• eliminate the risk of musculoskeletal disorders or, if this is not practicable, reduce the risk.

Seek assistance and advice on ergonomics, manual handling, risk assessments and legislative obligations from the OH&S unit within HRSD.

If someone else is carrying out tasks on your behalf, you have a responsibility to ensure that the person has the appropriate training, supervision and experience to carry them out correctly. These guidelines are an essential component of every new employee’s training.

Be proactive with OH&S issues. There are many benefits in having a strong OH&S policy and ensuring, as far as practical, that OH&S is the number one priority.

Be sure to include fractional and casual staff in all OH&S activities.