What is consultation and why should employers and workers consult on health and safety issues?

Employers must consult and cooperate with safety and health representatives (if any) and employees about safety and health at the workplace, under the general duty of care provision, section 19(1)(c) of the OSH Act. 

A safe workplace is more easily achieved when employers and workers talk to each other about potential problems and work together to find solutions. This is why the law requires employers to consult employees on safety and health matters.

The duty to consult safety and health representatives and employees does not have to be onerous or time-consuming. Employers should take a sensible, proactive approach and consult as far as practicable in the circumstances.

Consultation needs to be a two-way exchange between employers and their safety and health representatives (if any) and employees that involves:

• sharing information about safety and health – information must be timely and in a form understood by employees, including in other languages where appropriate;
• giving employees a reasonable opportunity to express their views – employees should help to shape decisions, not hear about them after they are made; and
• taking employees’ views into account when coming to a decision about what to do with a safety and health matter – drawing on employees’ day to day experience with their jobs will help develop practical solutions. 

Options for consultation include having safety and health as a standing agenda item at workplace meetings and toolbox meetings so issues are regularly discussed and raised. Workplace newsletters and bulletins could also inform staff about issues and call for comments. 

Other processes for consultation include setting up a safety and health committee with regular meetings and/or having elected safety and health representatives. 

Safety and health representatives and safety and health committees must be set up where an employee gives notice to the employer or, in the case of the safety and health committee, when the WorkSafe Western Australia Commissioner requires them to be established. They may also be set up when an employer chooses to do so.

The Occupational Safety and Health Act 1984 (the OSH Act) has specific requirements for the establishment of a safety and health committee and election of safety and health representatives. See the guidance note on formal consultative processes at the workplace for more information.

If employees have elected a safety and health representative, the safety and health representative must be involved in consultation. 

Employers have a range of duties to safety of health representatives including providing them with information on the hazards and safety and health of employees and consulting them on changes that may impact on safety and health. These are in section 35 of the OSH Act.

Contractor/s (and their employees) and labour hire workers must also be consulted about safety and health at the workplace.

Whatever the processes set up for consultation, the workplace must ensure that they are regularly communicated to all at the workplace so they are well understood.

By drawing on employees’ knowledge and experience, employers can become more aware of hazards and employees can provide suggestions about how the work could be done safely.

Effective consultation can also lead to:

• more informed management decisions that take into account a wider range of ideas about health and safety issues in the workplace and how to fix them;
• stronger commitment to decisions because everyone’s involved in reaching them;
• a tried and tested way of dealing with health and safety problems; and
• more openness, respect and trust because employers and employees have a better understanding of each other’s points of view.

The overall benefit of having safety and health representatives and a safety and health committee as the formal consultative processes at the workplace is they provide proactive and systematic ways for dealing with issues. This may save the employer having to take a reactive approach when a matter arises.

Having consultative processes at the workplace is recognised as one of the essential elements of managing safety and health at work. The WorkSafe Plan information and workbook provides information on the integration of consultation into a workplace safety and health management system. 

Your employer is required to consult and cooperate with you about safety and health at the workplace. If you are represented by a safety and health representative, the safety and health representative must also be included in the consultation.

When your employer consults on a health and safety issue, you should consider the information you are provided with and give feedback through your safety and health representative (if you have one) or directly to the employer.

Employees have a responsibility to cooperate with their employer so that their employer can meet their obligations to ensure workers’ safety and health. This duty assists the employer to meet their duty to ensure everybody’s safety and health as far as practicable.

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A safe workplace is more easily achieved when everyone talks openly about work health and safety issues and concerns, helps to identify hazards and risks, and works together to find solutions.

While consultation between employers and workers is a legal requirement it is also an essential element in proactive workplace management. Use the Safety Discussions Record Form to record safety matters raised and corrective actions.

The four steps to effective consultation include:

1. sharing information about workplace hazards, working conditions, and machinery, equipment or materials used in the workplace
2. giving reasonable opportunity for everyone to express views and contribute to the decision making process
3. taking those views into account
4. advising of the outcome.

Our consultation and representation at work fact sheet provides some guidelines for both employers and workers about best practice consultation on health and safety in the workplace which can be undertaken:

The Work Health and Safety Consultation, Co-operation and Co-ordination - Code of Practice provides practical guidance on effective consultation with workers who are, or are likely to be, directly affected by a health and safety matter, and how to facilitate worker participation and representation.

Safe Work Australia’s Worker Representation and Participation Guide provides further information for HSRs and HSCs, and guidance about resolving health and safety issues.

Benefits for business

Through effective consultation, business owners/operators, managers and supervisors can become more aware of work health and safety hazards or issues experienced by everyone at the workplace. The benefits include:

• reduction in injuries
• avoidance of unnecessary expense and downtime
• increased worker awareness and commitment through active involvement in how decisions are made
• improved working relationships through understanding the views of others which leads to greater co-operation and trust.

A two-way process

Good consultation enables workers to respond and contribute to issues that directly affect them, and provide valuable information and insights.

It’s a two-way process where information and views are shared between PCBUs and workers. PCBUs can become more aware of hazards and issues experienced by workers, and involve them in finding solutions or addressing problems. Workers often notice issues and practices, or foresee consequences, that might otherwise be overlooked.

PCBUs must genuinely consult with workers and their representatives, including HSRs, before any changes or decisions are made that may affect their health and safety. Consultation should take place during both the initial planning and implementation phases so that everyone's experience and expertise can be taken into account.

As well as workers and HSRs, consultation should also include everyone else at the workplace who is, or is likely to be, directly affected. This includes contractors, subcontractors, labour hire workers, apprentices, work experience staff and volunteers.

To effectively consult with workers:

• talk to each other about WHS matters
• listen to their concerns and raise your concerns
• seek and share views and information
• consider what your workers say before you make decisions
• advise workers of the outcome of consultation in a timely manner.

Consultation with workers must also take place when:

• identifying hazards and assessing risks
• deciding how to manage those risks
• making decisions about the adequacy of facilities for the welfare of workers
• developing health and safety procedures
• resolving health and safety issues
• monitoring the health of workers and workplace conditions
• providing training and information.

Use the Safety Discussions Record Form to record safety matters raised and corrective actions.

Refer to section 49 of the Act for further information.

Employer responsibilities

For effective and genuine consultation on work health and safety to take place, PCBUs and employers should:

• be familiar with work health and safety laws
• develop agreed procedures for consultation with all affected workers and their representatives, including any HSRs for the relevant workers – even if there is no agreed arrangement, PCBUs still have an obligation to consult with and involve workers and their representatives, and other PCBUs
• regularly review and update consultation arrangements
• understand the roles and functions of HSRs and HSCs
• know how work groups are formed to enable the election of HSRs
• be aware of HSR training entitlements
• communicate with other PCBUs to determine responsibility for work health and safety issues if their respective duty of care overlaps
• plan and budget for work health and safety.

Worker responsibilities

Speaking up about work health and safety issues is important, so don't be reluctant to raise safety issues you see or become aware of. Report any potential hazards or unsafe work practices to your manager, supervisor or HSR.

The law prohibits discriminatory behaviour directed at anyone who raises work health and safety issues or carries out legitimate safety-related functions or activities.

Mines and quarries

Mine operators must comply with the general consultation requirements outlined in the WHS laws. There are also specific consultation requirements in relation to developing, implementing and reviewing their Safety Management System and principal mining hazard management plans.

Mine operators should also consult workers on:

• preparing, testing and reviewing the emergency plan for the mine
• developing and implementing strategies to protect persons at the mine from any risk involving alcohol, drugs or worker fatigue
• implementing the workers’ safety role.

The workers’ safety role will be to participate in risk assessments to identify any principal mining hazard and assist in selecting controls for them.

Mine operators must also consult with other duty holders who may be operating at the mines including contractors.

The Work Health and Safety Consultation, Cooperation and Coordination – Code of Practice also provides useful practical guidance about how to consult effectively for the purposes of work health and safety requirements.

Activities with other duty holders

There are often situations where more than one business or undertaking operates at a workplace and where people share WHS responsibility to varying degrees (eg shopping centres, construction projects or multi-tenanted office buildings).

Where more than one person has a duty for the same WHS matter, each person retains responsibility for their duty in relation to the matter and must discharge the duty to the extent to which the person can influence and control the matter.

Each person must also consult, co-operate and co-ordinate activities with all other persons who have a WHS duty in relation to the same matter, so far as is reasonably practicable.

Further information