January is the perfect time to consider how your business is managing workplace health and safety (WHS) risks in order to ensure compliance with your duties and obligations.
Start the year with safety in mind
To help employers keep safety top of mind this year, here are five top tips from Keith Govias, WHS Manager EML Group to start the year.
Start 2025 with a resolution to make workplace health and safety prominent in your workplace culture.
Start-up meetings
Just like when machinery has been off for a while and needs to be recommissioned after the break, now is a great time to host start-up meetings with your team to help re-focus on safety, reconnect and engage on safety controls and business priorities after the break. These meetings can also flag work tasks or jobs that are not designed well and are in need of modification or review. Consider your risk register and ask:
- Is our business doing enough to identify, assess, and manage the WHS risks associated with these operational hazards?
- Is there a systematic approach in place to control risk and review that our controls are working?
Manual handling injuries
Following prolonged breaks, our bodies start to relax! Who would have guessed it? But this also is a critical time when people return after a break, where they are likely to suffer from body stressing (such as lifting carrying and repetitive movement) injuries.
Ensure that managers, supervisors and leaders are reminding workers to warm up appropriately, take regular breaks and build back into operational fitness rather than pushing too fast, too soon and risking a strain injury.
Mental health
The wellbeing of employees can be challenged during the festive season, with some individuals experiencing anxiety and loneliness. Ensure that workers feel that they are returning to a positive workplace culture and are aware of mental health supports offered by your business, including flexible work or leave provisions and Employee Assistance Programs (EAP) that foster a healthy work-life balance. The Australian Government's Mental Health Calendar has just been released, so take a moment to add major mental health and wellbeing events into your company calendar.
Senior leaders face unique work pressures and at the same time play a vital role in building mentally healthy workplaces. The National Mental Health Commission's A mentally healthy workplace for executives was released in October 2024 (along with a handy quick reference guide) and shares practical strategies to support people in senior roles.
Heat exposure
In Australia, we have already witnessed prolonged hot weather conditions and bushfires. According to the Australian Institute of Health and Safety, heat is the most frequent cause of weather-related hospitalisations and deaths in Australia. If extreme heat is a risk in your workplace, it's important to develop and adhere to a workplace heat management plan.
Make sure that your workers are aware of risk control practices, have access to the right protective clothing and keep hydrated. Also ensure that your air conditioning has been serviced and will be able to work effectively through the summer period.
Remote worker safety
Australia has a significant number of workers in flexible work arrangements and working remotely. Ensure that workers working away from the office or normal workplace have the necessary training, tools and knowledge to identify risks and implement relevant risk controls.
Where to find more resources
It's important to keep up to date on workplace health and safety legislation and best practice and ensure that you have the right procedures and protections in place for your business. Remember to regularly check for announcements from key industry bodies such as SafeWork NSW, the NSW State Regulatory Authority (SIRA), icare, WorkSafe Victoria, RTW SA and Safe Work Australia.
To find information, tools and training to support your workplace safety goals please visit our resources area and you can download Keith's top tips here: