Is it Possible for Employer to Delegate Responsibility

The organisation section of your policy should clearly say who is responsible for what. The overall responsibility for safety rests on the employer, but day-to-day responsibility can be delegated to others within the business.

In smaller businesses, it may be very easy to decide who needs to do what for the purposes of health and safety.

As businesses get larger, the organisation section of the policy may need to set out the responsibilities of staff at different levels of the hierarchy within the business.

The organisation section may include a diagram or chart showing the business structure and the responsibilities of:

• the managing director




• other managers




• supervisors or team leaders




• all employees

Construction Safety Plans

Construction safety requires skill, experience, planning, and training. No matter what type of construction you do, from putting up a building to installing a pipeline, you have to know exactly what you're doing. The wrong materials or the wrong procedures can make for tragic accidents, fines and negative publicity.

A construction safety plan can assist principal contractors to manage their workplace health and safety obligations.

A principal contractor must prepare a construction safety plan before construction work starts.

The plan must state:

• workplace address




• name and address of the principal contractor




• principal contractor's ABN




• whether there is a WHS committee




• whether there is a WHS Officer appointed




• expected start date




• estimated duration of the work




• type of construction




• plant provided for common use




• site rules




• the risks the principal contractor is obliged to manage




• proposed control measures for the risks




• how the controls will be implemented




• arrangements for monitoring and reviewing controls




• emergency procedures




• public safety strategies

The plan must be written so it is easy to understand, signed and dated by the principal contractor. It must be available for the length of the project.


Legal Obligations to Provide Health and SafetyPolicy

The obligation to provide a health and safety policy originally arises under section 2(3) of the HSWA. In cases of flagrant disregard, enforcement officers may issue improvement notices which if contravened lead to the ultimate potential sanctions of criminal penalties, including large fines and imprisonment.

Inspectors from the local authority Environmental Health Department, or HSE are responsible for enforcing health and safety law, and organisations can be prosecuted for breaches. All workplaces must be registered with either of these two bodies. Employees can report any breaches of the legislation or seek advice from them.


How should a Written Policy look?

A written health and safety policy does not need to be complicated or time consuming. It tells staff and others about your commitment to health and safety, and simply describes how you will implement and monitor your health and safety controls
Net Lawman’s health and safety templates includes following features:

• All required information under the Approved HSE Code of Practise;




• Details of the client / manager;




• Description of the project;




• Site location details;




• Timescale for completion;




• Design information including survey details;




• Health and safety regards managing construction;




• Health and safety details regards managing incoming / outgoing materials and people;




• Methods and procedures for safe work;




• Drawings and site sketches;




• Lists of hazardous materials to be used on site;




• Fire safety plan;




• Site sketch including location of amenities, stores, materials, boundaries and the location of the structure;




• Extensive notes to guide you.

Our health and safety templates have been drawn by expert Solicitor and Barrister who know what legislation is relevant to your business and the best way to implement it. Net Lawman’s health and safety policies are tailored to your companies needs.