The underlying intent of the Health and Safety at Work Act is for everyone to have an opportunity to be notified, and to notify each other, of risks to their health and safety, in order for everyone to be safe and well at the end of the working day.

The Kiwi attitudes of “She’ll be right!” or “It won’t happen to me!” or “They can look after themselves!” just won’t cut it in this new environment.

All workers, whether your immediate staff, contractors or sub-contractors, have a responsibility to keep each other safe. They are all entitled to be informed of hazards that may pose a risk to their welfare, and to raise any concerns they may have for their health and safety arising from the work they are doing for the PCBU.

The PCBU must provide meaningful opportunities on a regular basis for everyone to raise health and safety concerns, with the aim of keeping their workplace, those that come into contact with the workplace and each other, safe.

The new legislation has a strong focus on worker engagement to foster a safety-conscious culture.

Are you confident your worker engagement processes are effective, and that your culture supports constructive dialogue and reporting of concerns?

Talk to Major Consulting Group Ltd on 0800 44 00 70 about MCG’s safety culture assessment.  We can help you to verify you have a culture that supports your health and safety initiatives.

This article was first published on LinkedIn in January 2016.