Policy – Occupational Health and Safety

1. Scope:
   • This policy applies to all permanent, contract and temporary employees of the Company’s work associates, including clients.

2. Purpose:
   • The purpose of the policy is to create and maintain an environment within which employees can execute their activities in a healthy and safe environment.

• The Company, therefore, undertakes to:
• As far as reasonably practical, to safeguard all employees as well as any other persons on the premises, against injury / disease and unhealthy conditions / industrial accidents that may arise;
• Provide and maintain a safe working environment by implementing structures and programs to ensure that hazards to Health and Safety are identified in a systematic manner and timorously actioned;
• Provide fire prevention and safety training to all employees;
• Have Fire drills at least once every 3 months
• Hold regular SHE meetings with appointed SHE representatives from each department
• Ensure compliance with the requirements of the Occupational Health & Safety Act of 1993 and adoption of the applicable safety codes, standards, and general best practices
• Measure compliance by auditing at regular intervals and monitoring occupational health and safety indicators;
• Communicate health and safety rules and procedures to all interested and affected parties;
• Ensure that this Health and Safety Policy is reviewed as and when appropriate

2.3 To ensure the above, the Company requires management to accept responsibility for the above, and to ensure full legal compliance in their areas of responsibility as a condition of employment.

2.4  All employees must adhere to all safe work standards and procedures and to:

• Take care of his or her own health and safety, as well as that of other persons who may be affected by his or her actions or negligence to act. This includes playing at work. Many people have been injured and even killed owing to horseplay in the workplace, and that is considered a serious contravention.
• Identify, eliminate and/or control all unsafe acts and conditions
• Carry out any lawful instruction which the employer or authorized person prescribes with regard to health and safety
• Comply with the rules and procedures that the employer gives him/her
• Operate and use equipment and vehicles in such a way that their safety and that of others is ensured;
• Adhere to all legal requirements and all other regulations relating to safety.
• Report unsafe or unhealthy conditions to the employer or health and safety representative as soon as possible.
• If he or she is involved in an incident that may influence his or her health or cause an injury, report that incident to the employer, and authorized person or the health and safety representative as soon as possible, but no later than by the end of the shift.

3. Employer’s Responsibilities:

3.1 It is an employer’s duty to protect the health, safety and welfare of their employees and other people who might be affected by their business. Employers must do whatever is reasonably practicable to achieve this.

3.2 The duties include:

• Provide a workplace which is safe from any risk
• Maintain systems
• Take steps to eliminate risk
• Plan to eliminate hazards
• Establish what risks do exist in the workplace
• Provide training
• Ensuring and enforcing precautionary measures have been taken
• Work performed under supervision
• Employee’s scope of authority

4. Employee’s Responsibilities:

4.1 Employees have a duty to take care of their own health and safety and that of others who may be affected by their actions at work. Employees must co-operate with employers and co-workers to help everyone meet their legal requirements.

4.2 Their duties include:

• Take reasonable care of themselves and others
• Co-operate with the employer
• Carry out lawful instructions
• Report unsafe conditions or acts
• Report injuries immediate

5. Health & Safety Representative Responsibilities:

5.1 Section 18 of the OHS Act stipulates the various functions that a designated Health & Safety Representative may perform in respect of the workplace or section of the workplace for which he/she has been designated.

5.2 To name a few:

• Investigate for employees
• Report these problems to the employer or management representative
• Attend the meetings of the H&S committee meetings
• Report back to fellow employees after the committee meetings and always keep them informed about safety, health, and environmental decision
• Attend any safety, health and environmental investigations, surveys, audits, inspections, or formal inquiries
• Carry out safety, health and environmental inspections in the workplace which includes plant and machinery
• Identify deviations from the safety, health, and environmental standards
• Identify hazards
• Check the safety equipment in the workplace
• Make recommendations for improvements and discuss these at the H&S committee meetings
• Check to see that any newly introduced safety, health and environmental recommendations or procedures are being followed
• Accompany management on surveys audits
• Visit the site of an incident and speak with incident victims, or witnesses
• Examine the cause of incidents in the workplace
• Accompany the inspector and attend safety meetings

6. First Aiders Responsibilities:

6.1 It is important that first aiders take these roles and responsibilities seriously as first aid is potentially lifesaving in an emergency. The role of a first aider is to provide immediate, lifesaving, medical care before the arrival of further medical help.

6.2 Their responsibilities:

• Treat all first-aid injuries
• Complete the first aid dressing book
• Inspect the first aid box on a regular basis
• Ensure that the box is not obstructed
• Ensure that your name appears on the box
• Ensure that the content complies with the requirements of General Safety
• Ensure that serious injuries are reported
• Ensure that all minor injuries are investigated

7. Firefighters Responsibilities:

• Classification of the fire to ensure that the correct method of extinguishing is being used
• Assess the situation to determine when and what actions to take
• Only react on command of the Evacuation team leader to re-enter a building.
• Identification of equipment and places likelihood of fire.
• Ensure and maintain good housekeeping.
• Ensure that you familiarize yourself with the operation of the firefighting equipment in your department.
• Carry out inspections of the emergency escape routes to make sure that they are not obstructed.
• Report any unserviceable or damaged firefighting equipment in your area to your manager.
• Basic fire awareness within your department.

8. MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet) Requirements:

8.1 MSDSs must be developed for hazardous chemicals used in the workplace, and each department manager should list the hazardous chemicals that are found in a product in quantities of 1% or greater, or 0.1% or greater if the chemical is a carcinogen. The MSDS does not have to list the amount that the hazardous chemical occurs in the product.

8.2 Employers shall have a material safety data sheet in the workplace for each hazardous chemical which they use. It shall contain the following information, to mention a few:

1. If the hazardous chemical is a single substance, its chemical and common name(s)
2. The identity used on the label
3. The physical hazards of the hazardous chemical, including the potential for fire, explosion, and reactivity
4. The health hazards of the hazardous chemical, including signs and symptoms of exposure, and any medical conditions which are generally recognized as being aggravated by exposure to the chemical
5. The name, address and telephone number of the chemical manufacturer, importer, employer, or other responsible party preparing or distributing the material safety data sheet, who can provide additional information on the hazardous chemical and appropriate emergency procedures, if necessary

9 Health and Safety Training Requirements

9.1 As an employer, it is your legal responsibility to ensure that your staff receives appropriate workplace health and safety training, as well as job-specific training to improve competence and confidence. All work equipment has the potential to cause problems in the workplace, so departmental managers need to ensure it remains safe to use and that you’re not putting employees at risk.

9.2 Each department manager has the responsibility to:

• Identify all work equipment per department that can potentially cause problems in the workplace. If we fail to manage the risks associated with the use of work equipment, we could be putting the person using that piece of equipment and others at risk.
• Create an SOP and Risk Assessment of the identified work equipment. Clarify the consequences of the equipment and whether it is a high, medium, or low risk. Identify any control measures needed to eliminate or reduce the risks presented by activities relating to the use, maintenance, and installation of work equipment
• Employees who work on the identified equipment should get trained accordingly to minimize potential accidents

10. Personal Medical Emergency /Medical Conditions / Serious Illness at Work:

10.1 This does not refer to an Injury on Duty but rather where an employee falls ill, whether a pre-existing medical condition exists or not, whilst at the workplace.

10.2 In the case of an employee falling seriously ill at work, (for example- and not limited to – where an employee suffers a heart attack, stroke, epileptic fit or where they faint, suffer severe pain or otherwise) whether or not a pre-existing condition has been communicated, the company will:

1. Have the employee taken to the nearest state hospital unless the employee has provided the company in writing with their Medical Aid details and authorization to have them taken to a Private Hospital in the event of an emergency. Where Medical Insurance is applicable, this is also to be communicated however if a Hospital Plan is not stipulated, it will be assumed that the employee does not have cover for private hospitalization.
2. Contact the next of Kin as provided by the employee on their personnel file records.

10.3 The company will not bear any medical consultation or hospitalization costs.

10.4 Employees should note that while the company will make every effort to assist them in the event of them falling seriously ill at work, the onus rests on the employee to provide the company with special instructions of what process to follow should they fall ill at work or suffer an attack based on their pre-existing medical history. (For instance, someone with epilepsy should stipulate in writing, to the Human Resources Department, what to do if they suffer a fit while at work).

10.5 Employees are by no means obligated to disclose medical information/conditions which they are not comfortable to disclose, however by doing so it put the company in a better position to assist in the event of a personal medical emergency at the workplace. It is however compulsory that any contagious airborne illnesses (such as TB) be communicated with the employee’s Manager or with the Human Resources Department without delay.

10.6 Medical Aids and Medical Insurance plans taken are done so in the employee’s personal capacity. Employees are responsible to know what their respective plans do and do not cover. The company will not become involved in disputes between employees and their medical practitioners or with their medical aid/medical insurance providers before or after medical attention has been provided. The company will however, to the best of its ability follow the employee’s received instructions on the process to follow and who to contact, should they fall ill at the workplace.

10.7 In the case of a medical emergency occurring at work, Senior Management needs to be advised immediately.