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Contractors Health and Safety Legal Appointments Overview In ensuring that a workplace remains healthy and safe, there are certain health and safety legal appointments required by a contractor. Every person in the workplace has a responsibility towards adopting safe working practices, wearing their PPE, complying with policies, standards, and rules, reporting unsafe conditions and acts, and numerous others. There are, however, also certain persons who must be appointed in writing, with their legal responsibilities and duties indicated on their letter of appointment. The following are legal appointments which are made by the client in terms of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 85 of 1993:

Health and Safety Induction Standard Requirements for South Africa Overview When considering the responsibilities and duties of the employer, one imperative question that employers must ask themselves is: Does your health and safety induction meet the standard requirements for South Africa? Health and Safety Management Standards

What is a Health and Safety Induction Overview As one of the legal requirements to which employers must conform, it is imperative to understand what a health and safety induction is, why it must be conducted, and how it is done effectively.  

Contractor and/or employers’ health and safety induction training does not only establish a firm foundation for strong safety performance, but it is also legally required by the Occupational health and Safety Act, 85 of 1993 (OHSA).

Contractor and/or employer’s health and safety inspections of the workplace can either be formal or informal. Formal inspections can be done in a variety of forms and the employer or contractor along with their employees must agree on the best method according to the workplace.

Most organisations conduct frequent and periodic safety inspections. Even though a lot of people are aware that such inspections are done, few realise why contractors and/or employers do health and safety inspections, or what purpose they serve.

Effective health and safety workplace inspections for employers and contractors in South Africa can be a useful management control which attempts to pick up any non-conformances before an incident or accident occurs. By critically examining the workplace, inspections can also help identify and record any hazards and risks for corrective action.

Health and safety inspections for employers and contractors forms a vital part of a proper health and safety management system. Inspections such as these allow the employer and contractor to ensure that the workplace and work activities are health and safe. They also work to reduce and prevent incidents, injuries, illnesses, and even death.

Small and medium business entities (SMEs) in South Africa face numerous challenges, with the compilation of the Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) file as one of these challenges. This file is one which is compiled by trained and competent OHS practitioners or a team of professionals who have the correct skills, knowledge, experience, and qualifications.