Explain the health and safety legislation relevant to that workplace or industry area.
How would you develop the program, with who would you consult and how would you implement the program
What are the most important aspects of the program and how would you allocate responsibilities
How would you provide important health and safety information to the employer, employees and any other relevant stakeholders
- How will hazards be identified and risks assessed
- What procedures would you put in place to develop, implement and monitor controls Who else would you involve
- What training do you think should be provided and to whom Who should deliver training.
- What records and reports should be kept and how might any collected data be used.
Answer:
Work health and safety (WHS) defines as professionals health and safety (OH&S), which is directly related to risk may occur for employees legal terms to meet WHS terms. The components of health and safety legislation are as follows;
Benefits of WHS in Business: To bring lower percentage ratio for accidents and satisfying employee by reducing cost of medication and assuring them to give compensation. Company should be responsible for any loss to employees in terms of health.
WHS obligation for Business: Australian WHS/OH&S are legal based like, working place should be safe along with updated machineries and raw materials safety measures available. Employees should be given compensated amount for loss occurred in terms of insurance covered.
Obligation for Workers: Training should be given to employees during joining about safety and health related to work. Worker should not play tricks to put other at risk and in order to get money should not playfully injure oneself.
Requirement in an industry, state or territory: Safe work Australia is a leader in development policy for safety. Providing education to safeguard and take measures for safety and work health.
Working conditions of women: Along with common rights and safety women employees should be given extra safety during work process. As per 377/96 stateswomen should not be differentiated. There are several works which are harmful for human health and safety especially for pregnant women. As per law maternity leave should be sanctioned and cannot be terminated from her job until she cross 4 months post pregnancy.
Policy, planning, implementation and operation, measuring performance, audit and review are essential elements for safety and health management systems.
Policy: Hotel’s management should conduct programs to train employees for safety and health measures to minimise accidents.
Planning: Workplace should have draft a plan to meet safety demands along with policy to meet safety statement.
Implementation: Hotel’s management should have power and supportive system to meet safety and health policy. This measure is to be taken to minimise accidents, it should be main aim for any organisation to look after safety and health of workers.
Measuring performance: It includes defining as proper surveillance is to estimate, calculate and keep check on safety and health performance. Any machinery preparing food if fails, it could be immediately checked through monitoring accidents occurred during operating such electric
items.
Auditing and reviewing performance: Measures by hotel management should be taken on constantly to improve and upgrade safety and health management system by replacing old machines with new like mixer grinders, microwaves, gas and so on.
Necessary information for successful management are:Health information management: is a method used for collecting, analysing and safeguarding digital and simple medical information necessary to cure patient.
Health information management professionals: Hotel management should create health policy for every workers, system should be organise to collect updated information. Administration department to be setup to look after all this safety and health measures.
Accredited HIM educational program on health information should be supported by (CAHIIM). Certified health administrator should be appointed to control and spread knowledge to individual for safety and health.
Electronic health records: It is a system should be install to measure and track health records. It’s a way to maintain records by management in a systematic manner.
Consultation here refers to employee’s satisfaction by considering their views and ideas at workplace. Consultation enables handling of a solution in an appropriate manner by gaining relevant feedback and appropriate inputs in regards to the same. Strategies to be used are:
Timing and content: Employees views should be view, before taking any conclusive decision. Chefs working duration in hotel cannot be judge until it’s on contract basis.
Power: It cannot be measured the difference between thoughts of employer and worker. Junior cook can guide better than masters.
Termination: It’s an issue, when a management knows how much risk associated with kitchen part during work. If in spite of taking measures, accidents occurs during work it should be stops permanently
protect confidentiality: Recipes should be kept confidential by employees in order to keep monopoly of hotel in particular food item.
Other strategies are, respect workers autonomy, supervisory responsibilities and so on.
Respect worker autonomy: Employees should be give few freedom at work breaking few agendas in order to achieve goals targeted.
supervisory responsibilities: Employees designated with team leader and managers should be given rights and responsibilities and authority to supervise work. Their supervisory talent can take hotel at new heights
Risk management‘s foremost principle to measure risk is correctly identifying possible hazard in work place. Management should work immensely on these by tracking every possible place in hotel for possible risks for employees while working. Daily operations at particular place can give idea about danger which can be trace through Check manufacturers information on machines as for example how to use a particular oven to bake Overlook on back records of accidents in order to minimise the possible risks.
Take account of non-routine: At regular intervals, machineries should be cleaned, examine, and repaired or replace for less estimated hazard.
Long term hazard to health: Management should take few steps and targets to replace few machines and electronic items like mixer grinder to replace if too old to keep control on noise pollution which disturbs staff during work.
Every organization needs to maintain health and safety records such that they can be referred anytime. Such records allow to upkeep wit standards and maintain reports for audit purposes. The five necessary health and safety records that are stored in organizations consist of the following;
- Lists of individuals and their roles in health and safety as in this case risk assessors, first aiders, fire evacuation officers, Union Health and Safety Representatives and so on.
- Copies of Health and Safety Code and Company Health and Safety Policy for projected review have to be maintained.
- Register comprising of completed risk assessment pertaining to health and safety risk assessment matrix.
- Copy of health and safety policies and guidelines given to staffs.
Workplace related health and safety standards enable prevention of accidents and injuries at workplaces. There are necessary workplace related legislations present for each and every type of industry to maintain health and safety standards for workers and employees. Government along with WHS Board have developed and intended some major workplace related standards that can help attain safety and health at workplace reducing moral as well as psychological pressures. The scope of this report deals in necessary workplace related standards and legislations for restaurant industry in Australia.
Researches depict major workplace related incidences and accidents in Australian restaurant chains. Such accidents and incidents have full reliability of employers as well as employees. Working hand-in-hand will enable development of and accomplishments of standards and work practices.
- Relevant legislation:For restaurant businesses necessary guidelines and practices has to be present such that accidents and incidents are lowered. The relevant legislations in respect to the guidelines are WHS, 2011 act and other relevant guidelines.
- Employer responsibilities:Employer of the restaurant holds complete responsibility for handling of safety and health standards of workers. It is completely the employer responsibility to conduct risk assessment and audit of all procedures that can impend harm on employees and staffs.
- Employee responsibilities:An employee, staff or worker has the responsibility to abide by duties and work procedures as provided by employer. An employee needs to follow and adhere to duties as well as responsibilities such that necessary workplace practices can be impended.
Workplace injuries and accidents in restaurants in Australia is majorly from burns, cuts, open wounds, sprains, strain and so on. It is industry practice to keep specific checklists and provide adequate training such that employees can meet the same. Each restaurants within purview of Australian boards and confirming to WHS has to abide by its work procedures such as to avoid possibility of accidents.
Health and Safety Legislation
While there remains various standards and health as well as safety regulations but most important ones are those confirming to WHS. WHS, 2011 guidelines provides most intriguing standards in health and safety guidelines that restaurants can incorporate.
Develop Program
In a popular restaurant a health and safety program needs to be inculcated that will help avoid unnecessary accidents. For developing such programs the senior stakeholders, especially the chefs, managers and owners has to be consulted. They will provide relevant inputs regarding the training and safety needs or existence of gaps if any. Developing programs that complies to or meets standards specified by such members will help attain goals of WHS for the organization and overcome any issues pertaining to injuries as well as accidents.
Important aspects of the program and Allocating Responsibilities
The most important part of developing a program that will confirm to health and safety needs of the organization is in identifying potential needs. A comprehensive audit will be conducted that will ensure and highlight the main areas requiring attentions within the restaurant. The checklists will further provide areas of improvement. Once such areas for improvement has been identified responsibilities needs to be allocated. Allocating responsibilities to necessary stakeholders is important as it allows understanding and delegating a task in a better way. The senior members of the organization will be responsible for conducting training and junior members in maintaining necessary equipment for safety. The manager will be responsible for managing overall task procedures and in monitoring of such tasks.
All integral health and safety standards have to be communicated to all stakeholders of the organization. The organization needs to have WHS norms and guidelines printed and made available to workers as well as employee such that they can easily assess the same. Emails as well as written communications regarding newly incorporated WHS has to be provided to each and every worker such that they are able to adhere to the same. Any limiting usage for any equipment or word of caution has to be provided such that employees conform to them and avoids scope of accidents or injury.
Hazards identification and risks assessment
Hazards and risks assessment in organizations has to be undertaken such that relevant and potential threats can be identified. Hazards and risks will be assessed by audit checklists and examining areas where accidents as well as injuries have occurred before. Most accidents in restaurants occur in kitchen due to burns, cuts, sprains hence risk assessment for such functionalities has to be done.
Procedures would you put in place to develop, implement and monitor controls
In order to develop a WHS plan a detailed work procedure has to be made. Such work procedures will allow implementing and monitoring controls over practices prevailing in workplaces. A manager within the workplace will be maintaining records and journals of all harms and injuries that are taking place such that monitoring activity can be done. Then a weekly meeting with all team members will be initiated to understand various roles succumb that has been done and ways to improvise any relevant procedure.
Training Needs
Proper and appropriate training has to be delivered to each and every employee within the organization such as to convey sense pertaining to WHS procedures. Such trainings will be imparted by senior members as well as by experts from outside. Housekeeping service training, maintenance training and other possible training will be provided and imparted to all employees such that they can avoid risks from potential accidents and injuries.
Records and Reports
The organization will maintain records and reports for all health practices and norms. Records regarding previous accidents and injury rates compared to current rates will also be maintained such that potential harms can be reduced. Any gap is targeted and desired results needs to be analysed such that proper aims can be attained.
