Health and Safety

Introduction

Boards of trustees are responsible for health and safety in schools, for students, staff, visitors and other users of the premises. This responsibility has a variety of legal sources, which are summarised at the end of this chapter.

Legal requirements

The most comprehensive statement of responsibility is the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992 (HSEA) and amendments. This sets out boards' responsibilities to staff and to some but not all of the other people who enter a school. However, using the approach prescribed by the HSEA in relation to all hazards that might arise for anyone in the school grounds is the best way to ensure the board is meeting all its legal obligations.

The HSEA requires that all hazards are systematically identified. Significant hazards must be eliminated if practicable. If elimination is not practicable then they must be "isolated". To the extent that isolation is not practicable, exposure to the hazard must be minimised. All practicable steps must be taken to ensure that the school is healthy and safe. This is a continuous process. All identified hazards, and all control measures should be monitored and reviewed.

Schools should have comprehensive health and safety policies, and include health and safety within its annual review and planning cycle.

To assist with this, the Ministry of Education, in collaboration with NZEI, PPTA and NZ School Trustees Association, has produced a resource called "Worksafe @ School". This resource is designed to assist schools to meet their obligations under the HSEA. It has sections covering staff involvement, hazard identification and management, emergency management, responding to accident and incidents, management of students, visitors and contractors, and staff training. Each section has guidelines and practical tools to carry out each part of the process. It also includes sample policies and guidelines to annual health and safety planning. The resource can be found on the Ministry of Education website 

It is important that staff are fully involved in the management of health and safety in the school. Involvement is the key to building commitment and encouraging a strong health and safety culture.

Workplaces with 30+ employees
Amendments to the HSEA require workplaces with 30+ employees to have an agreement between the employer and employees (and unions) for a system that facilitates effective employee participation in health and safety decisions. This often results in the formalisation of health and safety committees with employee participation.

Workplaces with less than 30 employees
Workplaces with less than 30 employees still have the same right to full participation in health and safety decisions, although there is no requirement to automatically agree on a system for employee participation. However, any employee can request that such a system is formalised and the employer must comply.
A key part of any system is elected Health and Safety representatives. An elected Health and Safety representative is entitled to two days per year for Department of Labour-approved training (currently provided through the NZCTU).

Key Sources of Legal Obligations

Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992 and amendment 2002 - employer to take all practicable steps to maintain a healthy and safe working environment, including specific duties to provide appropriate facilities and equipment, ensure equipment is safe to use, identify hazards, eliminate/isolate/minimise significant hazards, inform and train employees, record and investigate incidents, report incidents involving serious harm to employees, employee participation system.

Employment Relations Act 2000 - duty of "good faith" to employees. It is also now well established that the employment relationship implies an obligation to provide a healthy and safe workplace.

State Sector Act 1988 - duty to act as a good employer.

Education Act 1989 - National Administrative Guidelines include requirements to provide a safe physical and emotional environment for students, and various property related requirements such as playground safety, glazing and warrants of fitness for buildings. The NAGs are issued by the Minister and have legal force as delegated legislation.

Common law - duty not to cause harm through negligence. This is significantly overriden by the ACC legislation which prevents legal action for most forms of injury.

Other Sources of Legal Obligations
Other legislation imposing health and safety related obligations includes the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act, the Smokefree Environments Act, the Health Act, the Food Hygiene Act, the Civil Defence Act, the Fire Safety Act, the Building Act and the Human Rights Act.

The Ministry of Education has published a Health and Safety Code of Practice which includes a list of all the relevant legislation.