Breaches in WHS Legislation
Risk management plays a vital role in the business world. The number of industries has increased, therefore the entrepreneur are required to review on the adequacy of risk management process (Hopkin, 2017).
Risk includes uncertainty of future events (Lupton, 2013). Therefore, companies increasingly focus on identifying risk and managing the risk before it affects the business. Risk management is the process of identifying, analysing and evaluating the threat to the earning and capital of the organisation (Olson & Wu, 2008). The risk can occur from internal and external sources. Internal risks are those risks that have a direct control which includes noncompliance or information breaches in the organisation (Deumes, 2008). The external risks are those risks that are uncontrollable by the management which include exchange rate, political issues, market competition (Research Gate, 2018).
For the growth and success, the risk management is very important for the organisation because the organisation cannot define its objective for the future without management of risk (Rouse, 2018).
In the learning unit, there will be discussion about the case study of risk management which will highlight the breach of WHS legislation, identification of risk within the organisation, determining the risk assessment, risk control, cost benefits analysis and the consequences of not managing the risk in the workplace.
The principal Work Health Safety law in New South Wales consist of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW). Further, it is supported by the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2018. The legislation is developed by Safe Work Australia in consultation with the states and territories which is based on the national model WHS legislation (Workplace OHS, 2018).
The main objective of Work health and safety (WHS) act is to secure the health and safety of workers and workplace (Safe work Australia, 2018). It highlights the following point:
- Protect the health and safety of workers
- Improve safety outcomes in workplace
- Reduce the cost of compliance for business
- Improve efficiency for regulatory agencies.
In the case of hotel, the employer breached the WHS legislation, which is explained in the following point:
- The health and safety plan is mandatory for organisation to maintain but in the hotel, there were no written plans for safety and occupational health.
- It was also recognised that the representatives of Health Safety did not complete their Health and Safety Representative training and the staff of administration department was working as a Health Safety Committee.
- It is the responsibility of committee to arrange meeting for the staff but they did not arrange any meetings in last three months.
- Among the members of committee, only two members were trained because the training sessions were expensive for them.
- The new staffs of hotel were frustrated because HR did not conducted induction training for the new staff.
- It is the responsibility of employer to eliminate or minimise the risk to protect workers and other person from harm but proper plan was not done to protect them.
- The employer and union play significant role in promoting improvements in WHS practice but the senior staff did not took any step for promoting WHS.
- Proper scrutiny and review of actions was not taken by authorised person under the Act.
- The purpose of WHS is to provide for fair and effective representation, consultation and cooperation but the management of the organisation did not focused on it.
The most hazardous things happened in the workplace of the hotel are explained below:
- There were no securities for the guest. Some of the guest were assaulted and went to hospital. The guests of the hotel were not protected and safe.
- The lift of the hotel was not properly working because of such issue; the elder guest suffered the stroke in the lift.
- The first aid kit was not properly arranged and stocked; when the staffs were injured they went to the local doctor.
- The housekeeping staffs were mostly illiterate, they were using a new cleaning substance from the last six weeks which was not labelled that cause breathing issue in 8 staff, hand was burned of 4 staff, and 2 staff were suffering from eyes burnt not only the staff, some guest were also suffering from such issues.
Therefore, in the workplace of the hotel, the staff and the guest were suffering from various hazardous activities that might have a negative impact on respective persons.
The hazardous activities of the organisation connected with the risk (Arnoldi, 2009). In the workplace, the hazardous activity had created a negative impact on the staff and guest. It is explained in the following points:
- The first risk is the life of guest; the guests were not protected in the hotel as they could be assaulted any time in the hotel.
- The lift of the hotel was not properly working, that may cause the fear for using the lift.
- The treatment for the staff injury could not be treated on time because the first aid box was not properly arranged and stocked in the hotel.
- The life of the housekeeping staffs were also in danger because of the carelessness of the hotel management and housekeeping staff illiteracy.
- The brand name of the hotel could be affected because of the negative reviews given by the guest of the hotel.
- The staff would leave the hotel if they would not feel safe in the hotel. So migration of staff could also be possible.
However, the risk associated with the hazards. Proper measures should to be taken by the management to improve the environment of the hotel, secure the guests and the staffs.
Hazards
In the hotel, the management of the hotel should take some step towards the risk which is associated with the hazard. Proper treatment should be done by the management of the hotel. Firstly, proper awareness should be provided to the housekeeping staffs regarding the chemical used by the staffs, the staffs should stop using that chemical because the cleaning chemical was hazardous for all. Second priority should be given to the security of guest and staff so that they could feel safe in the workplace of the hotel.
The senior executive of the hotel were breaching the compliances of WHS legislation. Therefore proper steps should be taken by the management level of the hotel to control the non-compliances of the WHS legislation. It is explained in the below points:
- Proper policies and procedures should be established according to the compliances of WHS legislation. The policies should be easily accessible and according to the feasibility of the staff and guest.
- The members of Health Safety Committee should be properly trained and they should arrange meeting for the staff and should focus on the health and safety of the staff.
- The management should prepare a written plan related to the occupational health and safety for the staff.
- The management should take a step to minimise the hazardous activity such as proper arrangement of first aid box, security to the guest.
- Action should be taken by the management against the breach of the regulation by the staff of the hotel.
- Proper induction training should be provided by the management to the new staff, to understand the things clearly and easily.
- Proper training should be provided by the management regarding the WHS law and act to their whole staff, to understand the concept and benefits of the WHS law. Handbooks should also provide to the staff.
- The posture of WHS should be posted on the walls of the hotel to clarify the concept of WHS law and act to the staff.
However, the management level has to take some corrective measures to control the hazardous activity in the workplace of hotel to address non-compliance with WHS legislation.
The effective control helps the staffs to feel protected from the workplace hazards, help in avoiding injuries, illness, minimise or eliminate safety and health risk which provides safe and healthy working condition to the staff of the organisation.
The hierarchy of risk control is the tool of control measure which is used to eliminate or minimize the exposure to hazard. Is has five levels which is used to determine the risk assessment (Path for all, 2018).
- Elimination – The word elimination means remove the hazard from the root. In the context, the management should improve the security in the hotel to protect the guest from outsiders. It will eliminate the hazard of getting assaulted.
- Substitution –Substitute is the process of replace the thing to minimize hazard. The housekeeping staffs were using harmful chemical for cleaning which was hazardous for the staff and guest. However, instead of harmful chemical the staff could use another cleaning substance which would help in minimizing the hazard of chemical.
- Engineering Control –It is the process of creating a barrier to protect path users. Therefore, proper plan should be in written related to the occupational health and safety to control or minimize the injury or illness.
- Administrative Control –It is the process in which, change the work of people or prevents people exposure to hazard. Proper induction training should be provided to the staff member of hotel. Proper HSR committee should be arranging with trained staff and meeting should be arranging for the staff in every one month.
- Personal Protective Equipment – It is the process in which individual prevent themselves from hazardous activity. Therefore the staff trained themselves to prevent from hazardous activity. Proper precaution should be taken by the staff while doing any work.
However elimination is the effective tool to remove hazards but every time it is not possible to remove the hazard that is why further tools would be taken to minimize hazards.
The company has to bear the cost in the case of non-compliance of the legislation and continuous working hazardous activity. In the case of hotel, the management has to bear the cost if they would not take any immediate action. If the hotel does not follow the compliances, the hotel has to pay a penalty which could be the high cost. The reputation of the hotel would also affected in the case of non- compliances of the legislation. The hotel also has to compensate if any wrong would happen with the guest or staff of the hotel. Therefore, management could save the cost for short term only but it could be more expensive for them if the management of the hotel does not follow the compliances of the WHS legislation and continuing the hazardous activity.
If the management of the hotel follow the compliances of the WHS legislation then it would be beneficial for them. The main benefit of following compliances of the legislation is; it helps in making the healthy environment for the staff and guest. The staff would work more efficiently and effectively which make the hotel more successful. The guest would also be satisfied if the environment will be safe and healthy.
However, it is recommended that the management should control over hazardous activity and should take further step to make the hotel safe and healthy.
Every organisation has to bear consequences of not following the compliances of the legislation. Therefore in the case of hotel, if the management would not focus on the improvement of the compliances and continuous working hazardous activity then the hotel has to face the consequences which are explained below:
- Penalties – The penalties would be charge in case of non- compliances of the legislation.
- Brand Name- The brand name of the hotel would be negatively affected in case of working hazardous activity.
- Compensation – if any staff or guest faces major injury then hotel has to compensate to the injured person.
- Migration – The migration of staff would be increase because of unhealthy and unsafe environment.
- Guest – The number of guest also get affected. Any guest does not want to come in unhealthy environment.
- Cancelation of Licence – There would be possibility of cancelation of licence in the case of non-compliance of the WHS legislation.
Conclusion
From the above discussion it can be concluded that the management of risk is important for every organisation. With the help of risk management the organisation can achieve the desired goal. For risk management the NSW has introduced WHS legislation to protect the workers from unhealthy and unsafe environment that has to be followed by every organisation. But the senior staffs of the hotel were not following the compliances of the hotel. The hotel was carefree towards the guest and staff. Various hazardous activities followed by the staff of the hotel, which would negatively affected the image of the hotel. The guest and staffs were not safe in the hotel. The guest were assaulted any time in the hotel and the housekeeping staffs were using chemical for cleaning that injured lots of people among the hotel. Proper induction training was not arranged for the new staff. All these things were created great impact on the hotel. If the management of the hotel would not take any further step for improvement of compliances and on hazardous activities then the hotel would face the consequences of it.
References
Arnoldi, J. (2009). Risk (1st ed.). Massachusetts: Polity Press.
Deumes, R., & Knechel, W. R. (2008). Economic incentives for voluntary reporting on internal risk management and control systems. Auditing: A Journal of Practice & Theory, 27(1), 35-66.
Hopkin, P. (2017). Fundamentals of Risk Management (4th ed.). Great Britain: Kogan Page Limited.
Lupton, D. (2013). Risk (2nd ed.). Oxon: Routledge.
Olson, D.L. & Wu, D.D. (2008). Enterprise Risk Management (1st ed.). Singapore: World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd.
Path for all. (2018). Hierarchy of Risk Control. Retrieved from: https://www.pathsforall.org.uk/pfa/glossary-of-path-construction-terminology/hierarchy-of-risk-control.html
ResearchGate. (2018). Internal and External risk sources. Retrieved from: https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Internal-and-External-risk-sources_fig1_274051021
Rouse, M. (2018). Risk Management. Retrieved from: https://searchcompliance.techtarget.com/definition/risk-management
Safe work Australia. (2018). Model WHS Laws. Retrieved from: https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/law-and-regulation/model-whs-laws
WorkplaceOHS. (2018). New Legislation. Retrieved from: https://workplaceohs.com.au/legislation/nsw-legislation
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