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The purpose of the permit to work is that it helps to reduce the risk of safety incidents. This is done by ensuring that people involved with certain high-risk tasks are aware of the specific hazards, that they take the necessary precautions and that they are competent to conduct the task.

OHS Online - Permit to Work for Contractors and Health and Safety Overview There are some tasks that carry some inherent hazards. To ensure that these hazards are adequately and correctly controlled, it is appropriate to operate and maintain a permit to work system. OHS Online – Permit to work for contractors and health and safety, is a key factor which may be misinterpreted and even misused. It must not be confused with a risk assessment but as an addition to such a process. The procedure will assist managers in identifying the types of tasks that require a permit to work, who is responsible for raising and closing such a permit, and what the role of the contractor or maintenance personnel will play in the process. It should be noted that the procedure on permits to work is accompanied by task identification registers as well as the permit to work which must be completed by the relevant parties. The permit to work system must form part of the Occupational Health and Safety programme, it must be maintained, monitored, and reviewed for its effectiveness to ensure a consistently healthy and safe work environment.

A permit to work system is a system which is formal and written, used to control certain types of work which may present potential hazards. The permit to work is subsequently a document which specifies the work which must be done, the hazards identified (whether potential or existing), and the precautions that must be taken in preventing an accident or incident from occurring.

How to register you Domestic employees for COIDA / WCA Please open the Document to read more - DOWNLOADS AVAILABLE to register as an employer of a domestic worker Overview As per the Department of Employment and Labour Notice 106 of 2021, domestic worker employees must be registered in terms of section 80 of the COIDA Act as amended. What does this mean for domestic employees? The implications of declaring this section of COIDA invalid means that domestic workers/employees are now covered/included under COIDA, meaning that these employees are entitled for compensation if they are injured, or they contract diseases,

Who is responsible in South Africa when a contractor that you contracted to conduct work for you is injured or killed on your premises? Overview When a client hires an independent contractor to perform services at their place of business, it is imperative to know who is responsible in South Africa when a contractor that they contracted to conduct for them is injured or killed on their premises. Clients must know that their legal standard of care is different from the duties which are owed to a customer, for instance. However, should a workplace injury occur to an independent contractor’s employee on the client’s premises, the client will expect that workers’ compensation is available to cover expenses. However, it must be noted that even though there is workers’ compensation coverage, it may not preclude any third-party liability. This relates specifically to the possessor or owner of the premises, regardless of whether it is leased or owned by the client, being held liable for the injury.

Do you need a Letter of Good Standing from the Compensation Fund (COIDA)?

Letter of Good Standing (LoGS) Overview The Compensation Fund’s Letter of Good Standing (LoGS) can be viewed just as important as the South African Revenue Service’s (SARS) Tax Clearance Certificates. Letters of Good Standing are especially important for: • Tenders • Government business contracts and renewals, and • Contractor work Legally, mandators, or employers, can be held liable for claims as well as assessment costs of their contractors if they are either not registered with the Compensation Fund, or if they are not up to date with their fees payable annually.

Before providing a step-by-step guide to getting a Letter of Good Standing so that you are health and safety compliant, it is first necessary to understand what it is, why it is required, and what the workman’s compensation is.