Psychosocial hazards and Work Health Safety Laws - Rights and Obligations of Businesses
What is Work health safety law in Australia?
Work health and safety (WHS) law in Australia is legislated and regulated separately by each of Australia’s state, territory, and Commonwealth jurisdictions. WHS laws are largely harmonised across the jurisdictions through a set of uniform laws (the model WHS laws). All jurisdictions other than Victoria have adopted the model WHS laws. Victoria has similar duties and responsibilities under its Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 (Vic).
Psychosocial hazards are factors in the work environment that can cause stress, strain, or interpersonal problems for workers
What are Psychosocial hazards?
Psychosocial hazards refer to aspects of work which have the potential to cause psychological or physical harm - this is when a persons mental health is impacted by the work or workplace. The Code of Practice (CoP) identifies 14 Psychosocial hazards – these hazards may interact and combine:
• job demands
• low job control
• poor support
• lack of role clarity
• poor organisational change management
• inadequate reward and recognition
• poor organisational justice
• traumatic events or material
• remote or isolated work
• poor physical environment
• violence and aggression
• bullying
• harassment, including sexual and gender-based harassment, and
• conflict or poor workplace relationships and interactions
Managing psychosocial risks in the workplace
Businesses (or the employer) must eliminate psychosocial risks, or if that is not reasonably practicable, minimise them so far as is reasonably practicable.
As the PCBU, you can identify psychosocial hazards and manage their risks in the same way you manage physical hazards:
• Identify the hazards
• Assess the risks
• Implement control measures, and
• Monitor and review
Controlling psychosocial risks
Under the WHS laws, risks to health and safety must be managed following the Hierarchy of Controls (HoC):
• Elimination
• Substitution
• Isolation
• Engineering controls
• Administrative controls/Safe Work Practices
• PPE
The model WHS Regulations requires Businesses (or the employer) to have regard to all relevant matters when determining what control measures to implement. Does your business need help to meet these obligations?