Employees share responsibility for workplace safety

THE Occupational Safety and Health (OSHA) Amendment Act 2020 defines the general duties of everyone – from employers and employees to business owners and managers – in maintaining health and safety in the workplace. In short, everybody is responsible for workplace health and safety.

Generally, when an accident happens, people would usually point the finger at the employer. Although it is the duty of employers to ensure a safe and healthy workplace, employees must also bear the responsibility of looking after their own as well as their fellow workers’ well-being and safety.

The rights of employees to a safe and healthy working environment are spelled out in OSHA. These rights cannot be changed or removed at will by employers.

OSHA also states that every employee has the duty to take care of his own health and safety and that of others who may be affected by his actions at work. Therefore, employees share the workplace health and safety responsibilities with their employer.

Employees must cooperate with their employer and co-workers to help everyone meet the legal requirements and stay safe in the workplace. It would be difficult for the employer to discharge his duties without the cooperation of the employees.

Employees must be proactive in their approach to uphold health and safety standards. For example, they should clear up any obstructions and keep their workplace clean and tidy to prevent accidents. Most importantly, they should not take unnecessary risks in their work.

When an accident happens, it is usually the employer who is taken to court. There has never been a case of employees being charged for workplace mishaps, or an employer and employee being jointly charged for the same accident.

While the employer has to consider and provide for the negligence of his/her workers when it comes to their health and safety, one cannot expect the former to cater for the gross negligence of the latter. An employee has the obligation to avoid any risks that may result in accidents.

To be fair to all parties, other than the employer, his management staff should also be charged for the things they did or did not do that resulted in accidents in the workplace, such as failing to carry out the mandatory risk assessment process to identify hazards that are likely to cause harm to employees.

I hope that in future, the authorities and courts would take into consideration the causative parts by the employer, management staff and workers in their accident investigations and file the appropriate charges. Only then would people place due regard on occupational safety and health.

WONG SOO KAN

Petaling Jaya